The SJM decision could not have come at a worse time for the beleaguered Vajpayee Government. The Left parties have already served notice on the issue. So has the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh, the trade union wing of the RSS. And then there are the reports that Vajpayee's reign as the country's PM could be in jeopardy, if reports of BJP's debacle in the Assembly elections for Rajasthan and Delhi are anything to go by.

In a letter written on November 23, SJM co-convenor S Gurumurthy urged PM Vajpayee ``to reconsider the entire issue in light of developments that are taking place all over the world in the financial and services sector, adding, ``The most advisable course at present,'' he pointed out, ``is not to open up the insurance sector.''