Wednesday, May 25 2005 15:29 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: A Committee comprising Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Law Minister H R Bharadwaj and Personnel Minister Suresh Pachauri is examining whether or not an independent agency should probe charges levelled by a senior IPS officer accusing Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of allowing the post-Godhra riots to go out of control.

"The Ministerial Committee is examining the accusations levelled against Modi by Additional DGP Sreekumar and would take a decision soon whether an independent agency should probe it or not," Bharadwaj told reporters.

Asked whether the Centre was considering entrusting the probe into major Gujarat riot cases to CBI, he said some kind of probe should take place as even the Supreme Court had observed that the State Government acted like "modern day Neros" when the communal violence was at its peak.

On the issue of dissolution of Bihar Assembly and the elections thereto, he said it was upto the Election Commission to fix the date for polls and if the date was fixed after September, then the Government has to put the matter before Parliament for extension of the President Rule.

Rejecting National Democratic Alliance (NDA) convenor George Fernandes' allegations that Buta Singh acted in a partisan manner, he said the NDA should look into its own acts of putting persons from Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) as Governors of State.

However, he said post of Governor was a constitutional one and all the political parties could sit together and agree upon a guideline on appointments to such high posts.