The real decisions are taken in Nagpur

Even as somebody who doesn't admire the BJP's brand of politics, I have watched with interest how the party has been pushing the self-destruct button.

What struck me is that the fig leaf covering the RSS-BJP relationship has fallen. Not so long ago, a certain subtlety had camouflaged their ties. But last week's developments have laid bare that claim.

The helpless manner in which the top leadership has been beseeching Jhandewalan to clean up the mess has made them appear weak and incapable. It has shown that the real decision-making lies not with the BJP but with Nagpur.

The biggest fallout of the crisis is the great damage to the image of Lal Krishna Advani. His colleagues have levelled all sorts of charges and what is worse three of five members of the Cabinet Committee on Security have alleged that he has mislead the nation on Kandahar.

I have never admired Advani's divisive politics, but having said that, it is also a bit sad to see people whom he built demonise him like this. What is particularly surprising is how and why somebody like Advani allowed himself to be persuaded to stay on as leader of the opposition.

Like most seasoned politicians, he has displayed a tremendous sense of timing. He's always had lots of faults, but indecisiveness was not one of them. By prevailing upon him to stay on, his so-called friends have robbed him of the one quality that even rivals admired him for: decisiveness.

Of course, he may still quit, but the moment has passed. Whatever he does now will be an afterthought. It's also amazing how some of his friends-turned-foes have suddenly discovered his role in Ayodhya and in helping Narendra Modi stay on as chief minister after the riots. What's new here?

The whole world has known it all along. It's easy to kick somebody when he is down. The question is, what were the likes of Jaswant Singh doing when Gujarat was burning or the Babri Masjid was being brought down?