Knock-on effect

Recently, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Rajnath Singh told ministers in the BJP-ruled Chhattisgarh that party members would quit office if any allegations of corruption were levelled against them. They would follow the example, he said, of Lal Krishna Advani, who threatened to quit the Lok Sabha with a vow to return only after his honesty was proven. This thundering speech has left ministers in the Raman Singh Cabinet in shock. They are convinced that their political opponents will use this pronouncement to grill them on corruption that will oust them from the state Cabinet.