But Patil intervened when Patnaik alleged that the Centre had not dispatched enough Central forces to Orissa. “I don’t want to intervene. But what you are saying is wrong. You asked for four battalions and I gave you nine. I did so under difficult circumstances. I had to withdraw forces from the international border,” Patil was quoted as having said. When Patnaik said “they are not acting”, Patil told him: “They are under your control. You have to utilise them.”

The shootout at Jamia Nagar in Delhi dominated the proceedings. Several speakers, including CPI general secretary A B Bardhan, demanded a judicial probe into the incident. “I am not saying that the encounter is fake or genuine. But when questions are being raised, why is the government afraid of a judicial probe?” said Bardhan, adding that the Muslim community was “being alienated in the name of fighting terrorism”.