The NCM has sought an explanation from Patel on a circular issued recently by the State Intelligence Department to district police officers seeking information about the ``communal activities'' of Muslim institutions in the State.

NCM chairman Tahir Mahmood said that the NCM's office here has been inundated with telegraphic complaints ever since the latest instructions were given to the district police officials.

Following this, the NCM had sought details about the circular from the Gujarat Chief Secretary. Failing to elicit any response, Mahmood had spoken to the State Home Minister Haren Pandya, directing him to explain the purpose of the circular.

``As even this has failed to elicit a response from the State Government, I have now sent anurgent fax message to Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel, demanding a copy of the impugned circular and an explanation for it,'' Mahmood said.

Reacting to the circular, which comes in the wake of the census of Christians in the State, Mahmood said, ``Gujarat seems to be racing for the dubious distinction of specialising in all possible sorts of anti-minority mischief.''

The NCM chief said that the Muslims of Gujarat should be impleaded in the case under hearing in the State High Court against a similar circular issued earlier about Christian organisations.

In a sharp attack on the ongoing practice of issuing questionnaires to gather information about minority communities, Mahmood said that the queries made under the two circulars are ``equally obnoxious and smack of support for the perverted `foreign religion' theory''.