The split came to the fore on Monday when some legislators of the saffron party blamed the administration for the killings and said they wouldn’t allow the Assembly to function until the culprits were arrested. But after Rural Development Minister Biswabhushan Harichandan and Revenue Minister Manmohan Samal, both senior BJP leaders, refused to criticise Patnaik over the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda Saraswati and other VHP men, some MLAs refused to attend the BJP legislature party meeting organised at Biswabhushan’s residence. The 13 tribal MLAs among the 33 BJP legislators in the state say they will settle for nothing less than the resignations of the two ministers.

At a Sangh Parivar meeting on Tuesday, the two ministers were asked to put in their papers for failing to criticise the Government. “We have given them an ultimatum to resign from the ministry on their own or else they will be thrown out of the party,” said a VHP leader. “I expect the BJP minister to resign after the killings, as the Government has failed to provide security to a renowned leader,” said Subash Chouhan, national co-convenor of the Bajrang Dal.

Chouhan is particularly miffed over the Government’s claim that Maoists could be behind the killing of the Swami. “The claim is laughable. The Government is trying to cover up its failure. Our ministers could not manage to transfer the Kandhmal SP after he refused to listen to us about the threat to Swami’s life,” he said.

Emotions are running high in the Sangh after the murder of the seer. Senior leaders are desperately trying to regain their eroding base. “So anyone not seen showing enough vigour in criticising the Government’s failure in the case will land in trouble,” said an RSS pracharak. Incidentally, Higher Education Minister Sameer Dey has already come out openly against the Government.

VHP international secretary general Praveen Togadia has already set the tone by calling the Patnaik Government an “eunuch administration” while demanding a public apology from the Chief Minister who is caught between the rising Left wing extremism and the spiralling communal violence in Kandhamal. “Naveen and the state police are responsible for this attack orchestrated by the Church,” alleged Togadia.

Chouhan said when Australian missionary Graham Staines was killed, it caused an international outrage. But this time even those who owed their political careers to the VHP did not react strongly.

Ashok Sahu, chief of the Hindu Jagaran Samukhya, a RSS frontal organisation, said, “If the BJP ministers have any shame they should resign from their posts and withdraw support to the Government.” Rejecting the judicial probe ordered by the Government, he said: “The Government has lost its moral right to govern. We want a CBI probe.”

Though the RSS has not come out openly against its ministers, sources said it was tacitly supporting the disgruntled elements who wanted the ministers out.

Since the BJP needs the Biju Janata Dal’s support in the coming Lok Sabha polls, it seems improbable the party will pull the rug from under the Government. However, some top BJP leaders and the RSS brass are not averse to the two ministers being sacked to pacify the tribal MLAs and, most importantly, the VHP and Bajrang Dal. The Sangh has always been suspicious of Biswabhushan’s leanings, as he has often acted like an acolyte of Patnaik rather than the BJP.