The fiasco over the Women's Reservation Bill in Rajya Sabha leads one to doubt the government's sincerity.

The very same Manmohan Singh government had got the nuclear deal through at a great risk of its own survival a couple of years ago. It didn't have the numbers and its key ally, the CPM, had withdrawn support. The very same Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, put everything at stake and go ahead with the deal.

Contrast the situation now. The government has the number on its side. The two main opposition parties, the BJP and the CPM, have pledged their support. How can then a handful of MPs from the RJD and the Samajwadi Party, hold the parliament to ransom and stop the government from passing the bill?

There are clear rules of procedure for the conduct of business in parliament and these are powerful enough to keep in check the unruly members. Hasn't the chairman of Rajya Sabha, Hamid Ansari, suspended  seven members this morning when they tried to disrupt the proceedings? Couldn't he have done the same yesterday? And couldn't the government have taken the BJP and the CPM members into confidence to achieve its goal yesterday? Why did the PM decide to call for an all-party meeting on this morning, something that should have been done before taking up the bill for passage?