A delegation of Congress Working Committee (CWC) members will meet the President tomorrow morning to apprise him of the state government's failure to protect the rights of the minorities and demand Central intervention under Article 355. It is likely to be led by Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Manmohan Singh.

Disclosing this to reporters, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in charge of Gujarat Meira Kumar accused the state administration of protecting the guilty. She also blamed the Vajpayee government for not taking effective steps to control the situation.

Kumar who had visited Gujarat as part of a two-member fact-finding team said that the Central team had not even gone to the areas where theincidents had been reported.

The attacks against minorities came in for condemnation not only by the Opposition but also from within the ruling coalition. Commerce Minister and Lok Shakti chief Ramakrishna Hegde described as ``anti-national'' and ``highly condemnable'' the attacks, saying such incidents went against the secular commitment of the country.

Non-Congress Opposition parties also reacted to the Gujarat developments with former prime minister and Janata Dal leader H D Deve Gowda demanding the immediate dismissal of the state government. He said that there was incontrovertible evidence of total breakdown of Constitutional machinery in the state.

In Chennai, Tamil Maanila Congress chief G K Moopanar said that his party would take the initiative to organise a joint struggle with other secular parties to combat communalism.

His party charged the Gujarat government with ``inaction'' in nabbing the culprits. It also accused the BJP-led coalition at the Centre of ``hobnobbing'' with organisationslike the VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal which were responsible for the attacks. Some BJP leaders, instead of criticising their action, had praised them, it said.