They had a supporter in JD(U) MP Shivanand Tiwari. “This is not about Antulay alone. This concerns the country’s Muslims. You have to go through Urdu newspapers to understand this. How can anyone be prevented from raising questions in a democracy? As for the BJP, ours is not an ideological alliance, but only an electoral alliance,” he said.

BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain had no clear answers when asked about an NDA constituent backing Antulay. “Antulay has become a hero in the Pakistani media. We’ll settle for nothing less than his resignation,” he said.

Antulay also found support from one of his Cabinet colleagues. Minister of State for Human resources and Development Mohd Ali A Fatmi said: “Had someone not misguided them, Karkare and others could have been saved. He was an asset for the nation. I won’t go into the timing bit at all.”

Nominated Rajya Sabha member Shyam Benegal differed with this view: “If Antulay had a serious doubt, he could have brought it up in the Union Cabinet instead of going to the media.”

BSP MP Iliyas Azmi had his own take on the issue. “Reportedly the assassins were speaking in Marathi. I don’t think that people in Pakistan speak Marathi. Some Marathi-speaking people can, however, be found in Israel. The role of Mossad into this whole episode should therefore be probed.”