'The way this government has acted is totally unlawful and undemocratic. The Congress-NCP (Nationalist Congress Party) alliance is only interested in vote bank politics,' he alleged.

While senior Shiv Sena leaders like Neelam Gorhe, Diwakar Raote and Parshuram Uparkar rushed to Sangli and Miraj, Sena chief Bal Thackeray attacked the government in an editorial in Monday morning's party mouthpiece Saamna daily.

'On one hand, you plan to construct a Chhatrapati Shivaji Memorial in the sea off Mumbai and on the other hand you try to destroy history. In the proposed Chhatrapati Shivaji Memorial in the Arabian Sea, there should be a picture of Shivaji killing Afzal Khan, the same picture which was damaged last week in Miraj,' Thackeray said in the editorial.

Meanwhile, curfew in Sangli was expected to be lifted by 10 a.m. Tuesday and continue till 2 p.m. in Miraj, said Sangli district Superintendent of Police Krishna Prakash.

Since Sunday night, around 10 Ganesh mandals have immersed their Ganesh idols, five days after Anant Chaturdashi (Sep 3). The mandals had not immersed the Ganapati idols to protest the communal disturbances.

Last Wednesday (Sep 2), the eve of Anant Chaturdashi, the last day of the 12-day Ganeshotsav, the trouble began in Miraj, which has a population of 265,000, including around 40,000 Muslims.

A local organisation, Hindu Sanghatana Ganeshotsav Mandal, had put up a large arch depicting Chhatrapati Shivaji killing Afzal Khan.

The organisers allegedly also held a 'victory rally' near the arch, depicting all the followers of Chhatrapati Shivaji in saffron and Afzal Khan supporters in green.

Sensing trouble, police summoned about two dozen Muslim community leaders and requested them to ignore the developments.

'But, as it always happens, some miscreants exploited the situation to give it a communal twist, especially in view of the recently concluded Ganesh festival, the ongoing Ramzan month and the ensuing assembly elections,' Krishna Prakash said.

He said he rushed to Miraj that day and was addressing crowds of both communities from the bonnet of his official vehicle when an unidentified youth also climbed atop the jeep and tried to shout him down.

Suddenly, there was a hail of stones from different directions, prompting police to start caning the protesters. Some of the stones are also said to have landed at the Ganesh idol, leading to heightened tensions.

This was followed by violent clashes between members of the two communities that afternoon, in which the poster depicting Chhatrapati Shivaji and Afzal Khan was ripped off by some unidentified people.

About 300 people from both communities have been arrested from Miraj, while 50 protesters were nabbed in Kolhapur.