A senior purohita from the central hills, a heavyweight of a main political party to boot, had called the former strongman at the height of rioting that broke out in and around the sacred city to make an urgent request. “I want to make an earnest request to you, Sir!” he had begun. “Please make an appeal to the entire nation to remain calm and peaceful!”

Taken aback by this unexpected request the former strongman had replied: “Why do you want me to issue statements to the public?  That’s the responsibility of your own bosses!”

The senior purohita had greeted this reply with a loud guffaw. Of course, he had explained to the former strongman why he had to make the request.

The reason he had given was an eloquent pointer to where his bosses were placed in his estimation, they say.