The BJP is in an “unfortunate situation”. Not only does it have to sort out its “internal matters”, it has to do so in the face of the inanity of comments of some of the bystanders and some in its own fold. Precisely because they were not intended to be funny or even sarcastic, some of the reactions from onlookers (the media, friends and foes of the party, and other who might take themselves without the proverbial pinch of salt) to BJP patriarch Lal Krishna Advani’s resignation from key party posts have us in splits.

Here are some of the particularly-outrageous:

• “Come on... You didn't say that yesterday (on the rift within the party).... you said everything is hunky dory... media is the real victim (for being led in to reporting that everything is "hunky dory", we assume).” — Times Now editor-in-chief Arnab Goswami to a BJP leader

Now, Goswami’s self-righteousness is legendary, as it should be. After all, he has demonstrated it to be a good business model. But what gets our collective goat is that Goswami would even suggest for a moment that the media believed the BJP’s attempts to cover the rift within. Really? After three straight days of playing up Advani’s absence at the Goa executive meeting, the media hinged its entire reportage on the thinnest and briefest show of camaraderie?

• “More (BJP leaders) could follow suit.” — A CPI leader on Times Now

Are the old days of spies planted in foes’ camps back? Or is it a fond hope? How else can we explain this? After all, the Left and BJP are natural political adversaries.

• “LK Advani has become senile.” — Ram Jethmalani, ousted BJP leader

Advani is 86, Jethmalani 90. The former blogs, the latter tweets. If, even for a fleeting moment, you pick a side in this quarrel, you should be rightly deemed “in need of adult supervision”.

• “There is no way he (Advani) could be annoyed with Modi. Modi is like a son to him.” — Uma Bharati, BJP leader

Uma-ji, the time to say this ran out in early-2012. Period. But we can’t really blame you, can we? You have been waiting on the fringes for so long that it is very probable you could have lost your sense of time and chronology.

• “India is a great country. There SHOULD NOT be a rift between LKA and NaMo. There CANNOT be a rift between Krishna and Arjun.” — Kiran Bedi, anti-corruption activist

There are two problems in this statement: a) India’s greatness or the lack of it has little to do with LKA and NaMo. Therefore, the rift has even lesser to do with the same. b) Denial does little good, but we will let you go on that one. It is the first stage of grief, after all.

• “If his opinion didn’t matter to you yesterday why is his resignation a crisis for you today?” — Omar Abdullah
  

Not terribly nuanced. But perhaps the only reaction so far that is remarkable for being forthright and loaded at the same time.

• "Comrade Advani ko lal salaam." — A colleague with uncertain, Leftish leanings.