NCM chairman Tahir Mehmood conveyed this to Home Minister L K Advani in North Block today. Mehmood later said granting minority status to Hindus in these States would greatly mitigate their problems. The north-eastern states mentioned are Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram.

He said several organisations like Panun Kashmir were demanding minority status for Hindus, as they felt the NCM could look into their grievances only if they were officially declared a minority community.

There has been no official North Block response to the suggestion, but sources close to Advani said they had not expected anything of this sort from the Commission's chairman.

Buttonholed by newsmen, Mehmood was momentarily flustered. ``It was a routine meeting,'' he said. He then spoke in detail about the Gujarat situation. However, he essentially reiterated his stand that the Commission was totally dissatisfied with Government steps to check atrocities against Christians in Gujarat.

``If we were satisfied with the measures taken by the State Government, we would not have recommended invoking Articles 355 and 256, which authorise the Centre to direct the State to implement laws effectively,'' he said.

He said the two-member NCM delegation that visited Gujarat to assess the situation, described it as serious and alarming. ``The Commission has already submitted its report to the Government. But the State Government's portrayal of the communal situation in Surat and Dangs districts are in contrast with ground realities,'' he said.

Home Ministry officials disagree with Mehmood on invoking Article 355. ``Article 355 essentially asks the Centre to keep itself abreast of developments in a State. Sending a team to West Bengal was a step in that direction. In fact, it was only after that we felt justified in doing the same in Gujarat,'' said one.