Paralysed by fear

Accusations of policy paralysis engulfing the United Progressive Alliance at the Centre are now being echoed by the states. A senior Uttar Pradesh cadre bureaucrat recently admitted to the trend before a select gathering in Lucknow. He said officials were now apprehensive of taking decisions, since they ran the risk of being blamed for granting benefits to a particular party. “Any policy decision will benefit one party or the other, but it does not mean that it was done with ulterior motive or due to some favour,” he rued.