Tongue Of Flame

Last week we had one more sample of Mr Advani's hop, skip and jump. Unhappy at the deal struck at Kandahar, the home minister clearly felt that the planting of this unhappiness in the media was insufficient since publicly he had to sing a different tune. Could he perform another one of his Houdini acts? Sure enough we now have his astounding good-for-the-country-bad-for-the-BJP thesis. While to some this may seem a preposterous notion carrying with it a not-so-subtle message that the BJP's interests were somehow greater than those of the country, it is of a piece with Mr Advani's earlier fancy oral footwork. What we are really watching is a consummate artiste engaged in self-preservation.

Advani watchers have noted that whenever the home minister finds himself forced into making a clear choice, he fudges with masterly ease. The calculated ambiguity allows him to present a hard/soft face simultaneously. Just after the horrific Staines murder in Orissa, with the prime minister confessing publicly that his 'head was bowed with shame', Mr Advani was confronted with TV cameras. What was his reaction to the horrible incident? "I have a different perspective," declared Mr Advani coolly. Then there was a pause and he added quickly, "Naturally, I strongly condemn the murder". So, both sides are happy.

Good for the country, therefore, keeps Mr Advani's relations with Vajpayee steady. Bad for the BJP keeps Mr Advani's relations with the rss steady. Heads I win, tails you lose!