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AHMEDABAD, India, Monday (AFP) The leader of India's main opposition Congress party on Sunday blasted the ruling Hindu nationalists, accusing them of using religion and caste to divide the country.

"Communal sentiments are the biggest threat to the country," said Italian-born Sonia Gandhi, addressing a rally on the outskirts of this riot-torn city in western Gujarat state.

"It is very queer that some people want to overlook caste, religion and other difference when they get together for some goal, but when it comes to their selfish gains, they do not mind using religion and caste to divide people."

Gujarat is ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) party.

More than 1,000 people have died in the state since February 27, most of them Muslims, in riots which erupted after a Muslim mob torched a train, killing 58 Hindu pilgrims in Gujarat's Godhra town.

Intermittent violence in the state still continues, although only isolated incidents have occurred in the past month.

Gandhi appealed to the people in the ravaged city to forget their religious and other differences to work towards a common goal.

"Whatever religion we may follow, as human being, we must stick together," she said. "That is true devotion for the nation."

Fresh elections are due to be held in Gujarat where Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who has been under immense criticism for not doing enough to stop the riots, dissolved the assembly last month.

However, India's independent Election Commission on August 16 said law and order was still far from conducive for free elections in Gujarat, a decision which the Indian government wants to challenge in the Supreme Court.

According to political analysts, the ruling sees in the riots an opportunity to corner now-polarised Hindu votes to retain power in Gujarat, India's second most industrialised state after adjacent Maharashtra.

The state chapter of the BJP, unfazed by the Election Commission's pronouncements, on Wednesday announced it would push ahead with its plans to stage a 45-day "Gujarat Gaurav Yatra" or "Pride of Gujarat" procession to kick off its election campaign.

Muslim leaders and police have said they fear the "yatra", due to start on September 3 and scheduled to cover a distance of 80 kilometres (50 miles), will reignite religious tension. 

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