Apprehensive of being destabilised in the December session of Parliament, the BJP-led government is gathering potentially damaging evidence against frontline Opposition leaders.
The government hopes to use these if the Opposition appears poised to come together and form an alternate government.
Government officials said the "pre-emptive" apprehension of former defence minister Mulayam Singh Yadav about his being investigated by Central agencies, should be seen in this context. Yadav is a key Opposition leader and has been practically begging the Congress to take the initiative to bring down the government.
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Mulayam Singh's public admission that he is being investigated by RAW, IB, CBI and the Enforcement Directorate, came around the same time as the air chief marshall S K Sareen security check controversy. Sareen was in office during Yadav's tenure as defence minister.
Senior government officials said Sareen is unlikely to get an extension beyond his date of retirement in December.
The recent statement of Union home minister L K Advani about the Bofors investigation zeroing in on three or four persons, seems similarly intended to make Left parties think twice before aligning with the Congress.
Indications are that the names of the recipients of kickbacks would be disclosed at the opportune moment to sow confusion among the Opposition.
If the BJP-led government succeeds in bringing top leaders of the Congress and the Samajwadi Party under a cloud, it expects to derail any attempt to forge Opposition unity against the government.
Laloo Prasad Yadav, leader of another major Opposition party, the Rashtriya Janata Dal, is already facing charges in the fodder scam. He is expected to surrender before the local court by October 28.
Opposition moves to bring down the coalition government is expected to get a boost after the Assembly elections in four states. Of the four states, the BJP is reported to be on a weak wicket in Delhi and Rajasthan while it is not a factor in Mizoram.