And on his part, Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee announced that he would observe a fast on January 30 to mark the 50th anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi's martyrdom and promote ``amity between faiths.'' However, striking a discordant note both -- the Bajrang Dal and the VHP-- vowed to step up their campaign against Christians in the country.

Both denied any involvement in the Staines murders saying that the killings were ``against the Hindu ethos'' but echoed the same line: what happened was a ``natural reaction'' of people against conversions.

Bajrang Dal convenor Surendra Kumar Jain went a step further to tell The Indian Express that all efforts would be made to stop the Christians' ``changai meeting'' (spiritualhealing sessions). ``Hum kisi ko cherenge nahin aur koi cherega to chorenge nahi'' (We will not provoke anyone but if provoked we will not spare them), Jain said.

``It is wrong to blame us for every incident,'' said VHP's senior vice president Giriraj Kishore. ``This practice should be stopped, or else we'll have to take recourse to law.''

He claimed that the victims were carrying out conversions among the tribals and this had led to a lot of tension in the area. ``According to our information, Bargarh is not a leprosy-prone area,'' Kishore said, adding, ``The leprosy-cure centre run by Staines was obviously a facade for other activities.''

He referred to a document -- AD 2000 Plan -- prepared by the Christian missionaries, and said they had fixed specific targets for converting Hindus in each state. ``In Orissa too, they had identified areas for carrying out their activities.''

Kishore claimed that the Staines murders were because of intra-Congress rivalry. ``While Niranjan Patnaik, theminister for mass education, is related to Chief Minister J B Patnaik, industry and mines minister Jayadeva Jena is close to deputy Chief Minister Basanta Biswal. The incident at Manoharpur is a fallout of the rivalry between the Chief Minister and his deputy,'' he said.

Meanwhile, BJP chief Kushabhau Thakre is yet to respond to the critical letter from Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madan Lal Khurana asking for ``atonement.'' Thakre said that he had not received such a letter. Asked whether Khurana's act amounted to indiscipline, Thakre said he would comment after talking to Khurana who is presently on a visit to Andaman and Nicobar islands. Senior BJP leaders suggested that Khurana may be asked to explain what he meant by ``pseudo-Hindutva'' forces being behind the attacks on Christians.