The BJP, on its part, described the vandalism in the BCCI office in Mumbai and digging of the pitch in Delhi as acts of `madness', but however, asserted that its alliance with Sena would continue.

This infuriated its allies like Trinamool Congress leader Mamata Banerjee and AIADMK supremo Jayalalitha who described the acts of vandalism as `absurd and condemnable' and said the Centre should not allow them to continue. ``It should take firm steps...Put them where they belong, behind bars'', she said demanding action against the culprits. In fact, Mamata Banerjee wantsArticle 356 imposed in Maharashtra for its unlawful approach.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Farooq Abdullah flayed the attack on the BCCI office and said anything which hindered normalisation of relations between the two countries was `unfortunate'.

An angry West Bengal Chief Minister Jyoti Basu attacked the Centre for `failing' to take proper measures to rein in the Shiv Sena activists including their leader Bal Thackeray.

``Is there a Government at the Centre? They have failed totally'', he said when asked by reporters whether he was satisfied with the steps taken by the Centre to ensure a safe tour of Pakistan's cricket team in India.

Meanwhile, Thackeray asserted that Shiv Sena would not allow the tour to succeed and made sarcastic comments about the Prime Minister on his asking Shiv Sainiks to go to the border if they wanted to fight Pakistan.

He also ridiculed Basu for his outbursts and said the Shiv Sena was fighting for the country. Earlier in Chennai, the Shiv Sena's Tamil Nadu unittoday asserted that it would muster all its strength to prevent the Indo-Pakistan Test being held here. Intelligence Bureau officials are coming to Chennai soon to hold discussions with the state police officials over the security arrangements to be made in connection with the match to be held here from January 28.

In a statement here, Sena's state organising secretary G Radhakrishnan and state deputy general secretary M S Padamkumar said attempts to hold the match was `a challenge to patriots.'

If needed, the party would not hesitate to bring Sainiks from Kerala, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh, as directed by the party high command, they said.

Reiterating the seriousness of their intentions, three Sena volunteers were arrested for throwing pig-heads in front of the M A Chidambaram stadium today, while a Hindu Munnani volunteer, an auto-rickshaw driver, set himself on fire as an act of protest against staging the match and was admitted to a city hospital with extensive burns. On interrogation it was foundthat the three belonged to the Shiv Sena and they had planned to instigate communal violence on the Ramzan day today by throwing the heads of pigs in the cricket maidan. Certain `important persons' were said to be behind the conspiracy. Police are further investigating. During their visit, the IB officials will meet Tamil Nadu DGP F C Sharma and other senior police officers and review the security arrangements. Heavy police bandobust has been devised by the police for the Test match. About 2,000 policemen are likely to be placed in and around the M A Chidambaram stadium within the next few days.

Stadium officials are planning to streamline the issuing of tickets for the match. According to sources, only two tickets will be issued per person. This move is apparently aimed at preventing the Sena volunteers from making bulk purchase of tickets and staging a demonstration at the stadium during the match.

Indian team's arrival kept a secret

The Indian cricket team's return from New Zealand has beenkept a closely guarded secret in view of the attack on the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) headquarters here and threats held out to the cricketers. ``The place of arrival of the Indian team is not known and it has been kept a secret,'' informed Sharad Diwadkar, the BCCI executive secretary while speaking to The Indian Express this evening. ``As per the original schedule the team was to land at Mumbai on Thursday evening. However, there has been a change in the arrival plans. The BCCI secretary Jaywant Lele has informed me about the decision following which I have cancelled the players' hotel bookings here and their air tickets to their respective destinations from Mumbai,'' he said. The team is at present camping in Hong Kong, he added.

Meanwhile, the BCCI office which was ransacked by vandals on Monday, will start functioning from tomorrow. ``I have hired typewriters, fax machines etc and it would be business as usual from tomorrow,'' disclosed Diwadkar. He said that the decision toshift the office to Calcutta has not been conveyed to him officially.