Those who felt that BJP president Nitin Gadkari would resign in the aftermath of the controversy surrounding his Purti group of companies appear to have put too much faith in the innate goodness of the political culture. This innocent expectation of morality flies in the face of the prevalent political culture of Maharashtra which thrives on money and a web of innovative methods of wealth creation by manipulating co-operative and corporate laws.

The assumption that the RSS is averse to such manipulation is grossly misplaced in the context of Maharashtra politics. The emergence of Pramod Mahajan, Nitin Gadkari, Gopinath Munde and several other BJP-Shiv Sena leaders running educational institutes, sugar mills and othe commercial entities was the logical response to leaders like Sharad Pawar, Suresh Kalmadi, Praful Patel, Vijay Darda and others.

Significantly, this response was crafted and fashioned with the active support of the top leadership of the RSS and the BJP. Obviously it would be naive to believe that Gadkari's shenanigans which are violative of the code of ethics and morality were hidden from the watchful eyes of the RSS. Indeed, Gadkari's foray into the business of co-operative societies and his transformation into an industrialist was actively facilitated and encouraged by the RSS.

This was why complaints against Gadkari about his acts of indiscretions about a year back to the RSS chief cut no ice with his mentors in the Nagpur headquarters. RSS insiders admit that much before the recent expose, Gadkari's detractors had carried the same set of documents to RSS headquarters in order to convince the Sangh bosses about the potential of controversies surrounding the BJP chief. "All those allegations were summarily rejected there and then," confirm RSS leaders.

  The RSS leadership sees nothing amiss in Gadkari's politics and lends full support to him. Insiders admit that Gadkari's business empire built a cadre base for not only the BJP but also for the RSS. "There are many families closely associated with the RSS whose members are employed in these commercial entities," they say. The obvious implication of these assertions is that Gadkari's business empire is intrinsically a part of the Sangh Parivar's design for the future political course. And in the larger game of politics, the issues pertaining to morality and ethics are easily expendable. So in spite of all the noise you hear, don't expect any action on Gadkari.