Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee yesterday described the "carnage" in the western state of Gujarat, hit by communal violence, as a "blot" on the nation and expressed confidence that communal harmony would be restored there.

In a brief televised address to the nation, Vajpayee said the gruesome killings of people in Godhra, Ahmedabad and other parts of Gujarat have "left a blot on the nation's face which has damaged India's reputation before the international community."

He said the country had in the past overcome crises and it would be able to do so this time also to create an atmosphere of peace and harmony.

"Leaders of various parties have made a joint appeal to the people to remain calm and exercise restraint," the Prime Minister said and appealed for peace and calm in Gujarat.

Vajpayee's address to the nation came a day after a joint appeal by the government and the opposition urged the people "to isolate the perpetrators of violence and defeat their sinister designs."

"It is our collective responsibility to promote brotherhood and national

unity at all costs. The Prime Minister assures the people that the Central government would deal firmly and effectively with the situation in Gujarat and elsewhere in the country.

All of us expect the state government to do the same," the appeal said.

The joint appeal was issued from a meeting Vajpayee had with leaders of major political parties including Congress President Sonia Gandhi here Friday evening. A suggestion by Sonia Gandhi that an all-party delegation visit Ahmedabad, one of the worst-hit by violence in Gujarat, as soon as possible was promptly accepted by all.

Among other political leaders present at the meeting included former Prime Minister Inder Kumar Gujral, CPI(M) General Secretary Harkishan Singh Surjeet, CPI leader A B Bardhan, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, and Bahujan Samajwadi Party leader Mayawati, BJP President Jana Krishnamurthy and Telugu Desam leader Yerran Naidu.

After the meeting, Vajpayee called on President K R Narayanan and briefed him about the situation in Gujarat and the measures put in place to tackle the situation.

The Shahi Imam of Jama Masjid Syed Ahmed Bukhari also met Vajpayee Friday evening in what was the second meeting between the two in as many days.

Sonia Gandhi had also led a delegation of opposition lawmakers to President Narayanan to demand that the Army be deployed in all violence-hit areas of Gujarat. After the meeting, the opposition leaders told reporters that they tried to share their perception that the situation in Gujarat was "grave" and the Gujarat government has "failed" to respond adequately to the situation."

The Congress said it was "dissatisfied" with the measures taken by Gujarat government to deal with the situation that arose following the attack on a train in Godhra, Gujarat, on Wednesday last, which left 58 people dead.

AP adds: Bukhari urged Muslims to remain peaceful.

"If the Hindus raise a slogan, we will not answer with a slogan," said Bukhari, his voice booming over the public address system at the medieval red sandstone mosque. "If they provoke you, you will not be provoked. This will be our victory."

Bukhari said he would sit outside

the prime minister's residence if the government did not ensure peace.

"It is a shame that the custodians of law are dancing a naked dance of barbarism," he said.

Other Muslim leaders, while condemning the train attack in Godhra, say the retaliatory attacks are far worse.

"I strongly condemn the attack on the train. This is not the way to solve any problem. Violence breeds violence," said Asadudin Owaisi, leader of Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen, a Muslim political party in the south Indian city of Hyderabad.

"But what has happened in Gujarat as a whole is worse. They have thrown democracy and rule of law in to the fire," he said.

The All India Muslim Majlis-e-Mushawarat demanded that Gujarat's governor resign and the federal government declare presidential rule to protect Muslims in the state.

PTI says, two Muslim groups associated with the Babri Masjid movement yesterday proposed that Vajpayee take steps for tripartite talks involving real leaders of the

two communities and the government to resolve the decades-old dispute.

There can be solution to the (Ram Janambhoomi-Babri Masjid) dispute if real religious figures of Hindu community like Sahnkaracharya and Muslim organsiations including Muslim personal Law Board, Milli Council, Jamaat-e-Ulema-e-Hind and Muslim Mushawarat Council hold talks, said Khaliq Ahmed Khan, convenor of Helal Committee, a respected Muslim organisation of Faizabad and Ayodhya.

The Babri Masjid Action Committee (BMAC) and unlawful organisations like VHP, RSS and Bajrang Dal should be kept out of the talks if there to be some result, Khan, who enjoys status of de facto Shahi Imam of Faizabad-Ayodhya, told PTI.

Stating that the government should take an initiative to bring the two parties to the negotiating table, Khan said the government should be represented by no less person than the Prime Minister.