Sources in the government said that the loss of face suffered by the ruling coalition in the M K Bezbaruah transfer case is still too fresh in the Prime Minister's mind to compel him to take a decision that may invite flak -- and even worse, judicial intervention.

There is also the fear that the President may not go along with the government. ``The United Front government suffered acute embarrassment when President K R Narayanan sent back its recommendation to dismiss the Kalyan Singh government in Uttar Pradesh. Narayanan has made it clear that he is not a rubber-stamp President. Vajpayee would not like a repeat of the fiasco,'' an official said.

According to these sources, though the Union Government is in possession of the BiharGovernor's report in which he has referred to the ``dangerous situation'' prevailing in the state, there is still no immediate provocation for the dismissal of the Rabri Devi ministry. The RJD has called the Governor partisan and denied his charges.

There is also a realisation that the dismissal of the Rabri Devi government might trigger off similar demands from its alliance partners in Tamil Nadu, Orissa and Haryana (Om Prakash Chautala's Lok Dal). ``The Prime Minister will come under intense pressure from these allies, a situation which he would like to avoid,'' said the official.

Political observers feel that by giving an impression that the Rabri Devi ministry is about to go, BJP and Samata Party leaders are only trying to keep up the morale of their cadre. The latter is in the throes of a severe crisis with a section of state leaders raising a banner of revolt against the central leadership for its failure to get the Bihar government dismissed.

Meanwhile, the BJP has stepped up its demand forCentral intervention in Bihar. Hoping that other parties would see the rationale behind the BJP's demand for ``appropriate'' action in Bihar, party general secretary M Venkaiah Naidu said here today that the Bihar government ``was being run by a person who had no constitutional authority (an oblique reference to Laloo Prasad Yadav)''.