All this should have enabled the government to take the easy decision of crying a halt to further investigations as suggested by the commission. Obviously, the government does not want to take any political risk. This may ensure the coalition government's longevity but it definitely cuts at the roots of its credibility. The dithering on the Jain report, however, conforms to the trend established by this government. For instance, it went back on many of the promises it made in its first budget. The last that was heard on the insurance Bill was that there were differences of opinion within the cabinet on its desirability. Its performance on the women's Bill is even worse. It says one thing in the morning andquite the opposite in the evening. There is even uncertainty on whether the government would table the Bill at all. Of course, the women's Bill is no exception as the fate of a host of other Bills is not dissimilar. Ineptitude is clearly in evidence.

The heavens would not have fallen if the government had taken some time to study the gamut of issues involved in creating new states before it boldly announced its decision to bring forward the relevant Bills in this session itself. It is now repenting at leisure the decision it took in haste on Uttaranchal and two other states. What befell the Prasar Bharati Bill, which the government was keen to get enacted at the earliest, is ludicrous. The concerned minister reached the business advisory committee meeting after it had decided to refer it to the standing committee on communications upsetting the government's plans. If this is not a case of ministerial failure, what else is it? The net effect of all this is that the government is seen to be vacillating on keyissues. This is certainly not the image of the government that the BJP, which takes pride in doing what it preaches, would like to project. In retrospect, the Pokharan decision seems to have been an exception as indecisiveness reigns supreme in the government.