NEW DELHI -- India's Hindu Nationalist-led government braced for a censure motion in Parliament on Tuesday over its handling of sectarian violence in Gujarat state that has claimed more than 900 lives in two months.

While Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee was almost certain to win the vote in the Lower House, the issue has caused bitter rifts within his coalition National Democratic Alliance (NDA) halfway through its five-year term, AFP reported.

The political fall-out was underlined on Monday when coal and Mines Minister Ram Vilas Paswan resigned in protest at the inability of the authorities to curb the Hindu-Muslim unrest in Gujarat.

Three more people were killed in the western state overnight as police fired on Hindu and Muslim mobs who clashed in two cities, burning shops, residences and vehicles.

The NDA put up a United Front following a leadership meeting on Monday evening, but several key coalition members and supporters remain deeply concerned with the stance of Vajpayee's dominant BJP Party.

In a report published on Monday, the U.S.-based Human Rights watch said BJP members were directly implicated in the killings of hundreds of Muslims in Gujarat, and accused the BJP-led state government of engaging in a "massive cover-up."

Amid threats by several key allies to abstain or even vote against the government on Tuesday, the BJP has been busy striking deals which have ensured the backing of at least one sizeable regional party.

The complex maths thrown up by the 40-odd parties that sit in the Federal Parliament would appear to be in the government's favour, but a large abstention vote would still leave a nasty taste in Vajpayee's mouth.

A surprise defeat would not necessarily bring the government down, but would deal another body blow to the BJP which is still recovering from a series of humiliating defeats in state and municipal elections earlier this year.

Two key NDA allies -- the Telugu Desam Party with 28 MPs, and the national conference with five MPs -- have yet to commit their support to Vajpayee.

Both parties have been demanding the removal of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and have said they will only take a final decision on how to vote "on the floor of the House."

More than 900 people, most of them Muslims, have died in the Gujarat riots, which broke out allegedly after a Muslim mob torched a train carrying Hindu activists on February 27, killing 58 people.

The violence has been criticized abroad as well as at home, with several European countries raising question marks over the government's commitment to protecting its religious minorities.

In a public appeal on the eve of the censure debate, President K.R. Narayanan said it was the duty of every Indian to guard the country's secular fabric.

"I am deeply anguished and pained at the violent incidents and the killings that have disturbed the peace in Gujarat and elsewhere," Narayanan said.

"I appeal to my fellow citizens to restore communal harmony and do everything to end the communal violence that has devastated the state and continues to occur even after two months."

By sheer coincidence, the challenge facing the government has coincided with a similar political test across the border in Pakistan, where military ruler Pervez Musharraf was looking Tuesday to cement his presidency for another five years in a referendum.

India and Pakistan have massed close to a million troops on their common border since tensions spiralled in the wake of a December attack on the Indian Parliament by Islamic militants allegedly linked to Pakistan.