It is in this context that the joint statement criticising forces close to the BJP, that had emanated from Tuesday's coordination committee meeting, must be read. ``Sometimes, negative utterances and positions by certain elements perceived to be close to the nucleus of our coalition, BJP, have also undermined the prestige of the government...'' The language employed is diplomatic in the extreme, but the identity of the agencies which were For some time now, even as reports of attacks on minorities in Gujarat and other regions came in, followed by the horrifying news that Australian missionary Graham Stewart Staines and his two sons have been set on fire in Orissa, the government's disquiet over the stance of organisations like the Bajrang Dal and the VHP was clear enough. The Trinamool Congress and the TDP wereparticularly uninhibited in expressing their anger over these developments, with Mamata Banerjee even calling for the resignation of the Home minister and the banning of all ``fundamentalist and fanatic organisations'' involved in the attacks on Christians in Orissa and Gujarat.Jayalalitha, too, was not far behind in her condemnation. Vajpayee's unprecedented fast and address to the nation on Martyrs' Day, was yet more evidence of this. When he reiterated his intention to protect all sections of the people, irrespective of gender, caste and faith, he was also indicating to the lunatic fringe within the Sangh Parivar that he, as the Prime Minister, would not allow any group, no matter how close it was to his party, to get away with its ugly actions.

All of this is commendable. But will the more extremist elements in the Sangh Parivar oblige Vajpayee, by making themselves scarce, or at least by adopting a more muted profile? Unlikely, going by the public statements of various leaders. The RSS, in its Decemberchintan baitak, had criticised the government severely over its inability to take the agenda of Hindutva resolutely forward and had later even supported the Shiv Sena's untenable stand on the Indo-Pak cricket series. Organisations like the Vishwa Hindu Parishad and the Bajrang Dal, on their part, have neatly absolved themselves of the responsibility of creating communal hatred and of complicity in the murder of Staines and his sons. Given this reality, reining in the extremist elements within the Sangh Parivar would seem a difficult, if not impossible, task. After all, correction can come only when there is a degree of self-awareness.