In a country where political corruption seems to have become the norm – rather than the exception it was some three decades ago – public disclosure of every fresh ministerial scandal still manages to hit the headlines.

Common people, long resigned to their representatives dipping into the national till, devour with great interest every detail that emerges about the latest tale of political skulduggery, a positive sign that craving for probity in public life continues to permeate the national conscious despite widespread wrong-doing in public life.

Indicative of the public disgust against political corruption is the hostile reaction that greeted an extraordinary confession the other day made on the floor of Parliament by Shipping, Road Transport and Highways Minister T.R. Baalu.

The senior Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam member of the Manmohan Singh Cabinet admitted in the Rajya Sabha that he had indeed pulled strings on behalf of his sons’ companies with the Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister for the allotment of subsidised natural gas.

Baalu had then gone on to ask with a straight face: "What is wrong with my seeking help for my sons’ firms?"

This was probably the first time that a central minister had self-implicated himself in a scandal. Hitherto even when confronted with concrete evidence, cornered ministers would seek to wriggle out, offering mitigating and/or diversionary arguments.

But Baalu shocked both the opposition and his ministerial colleagues by brazenly admitting that he had indeed interceded on behalf of his sons’ firms.

The two Houses of Parliament were thrown into disarray with the opposition seeking his ejection from the Cabinet for his self-confessed act of nepotism.

Significantly, till he joined the government, Baalu himself was on the board of the two family-owned companies, which are now being run by his sons. His two wives are also on the board of these companies.

Baalu had lobbied with the Petroleum Minister for the allocation of cheap gas. Notably, the subsidised price of gas allocated by the Petroleum Ministry is up to eight times cheaper than the free market price.

The scandal was broken by an English language daily. Following the publication, members of the opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa raised the matter in the Rajya Sabha.

Amid the resulting din, Baalu angrily retorted that he had spoken to the Petroleum Minister on the matter and that he did not see anything wrong in it.

What further embarrassed the government was the revelation that the Prime Minister himself had taken keen interest in ensuring that Baalu’s sons got cheap gas.

The Prime Minister’s Office wrote as many as eight letters to the Petroleum Ministry impressing upon the latter the need to allocate natural gas most expeditiously to the Baalu family-owned firms.

The opposition targeted the Prime Minister for misusing his position to advance the interests of private companies at taxpayers’ cost.

For several days the scandal caused disruption of normal functioning in both Houses of Parliament. The Opposition demanded Baalu’s ouster for pulling strings for his sons’ firms.

However the Government stonewalled all such attempts. The Prime Minister too refused to explain the circumstances under which his office had sent as many as eight reminders on behalf of the private companies.

Clearly the ruling party reckoned that the Baalu scandal would recede into the background at the end of the current session of parliament.

Not unlike such scandals in the past, wrongdoers invariably get away scot free as both the opposition and the media fail to sustain public interest in taking these to their logical ends.

Admittedly, there is hardly anyone even among the opposition who doubts Manmohan Singh’s personal integrity in financial matters. As his critics put it, Manmohan Singh is financially clean but fully compromised – morally, politically and ideologically.

As Prime Minister, he has looked the other way while his ministers merrily dip into the national till. In the past, he has refused to sack a Cabinet Minister even after he was charged for murder. Reason: he did not want to lose the support of the accused minister’s party in the Lok Sabha.

In the latest scandal, his anxiety to secure cheap gas for the Baalu family-owned firms stemmed clearly from his felt need to keep the minister’s DMK party in good humour. With 16 members in the Lok Sabha, the DMK can always blackmail the Prime Minister by threatening to withdraw support.

The outcome is a free-for-all government in which every minister does pretty much as he wishes without caring a fig either for the Prime Minister or the high-fluting principles that should normally underpin all democratic regimes.

Besides, his being a 'nominated' prime minister too has undermined his authority to discipline his ministerial colleagues. Being a coalition government, Manmohan Singh is solicitous of every two-bit ally, allowing them a free run of ministries held by them.

A weak Prime Minister coupled with his compulsion to prevent the fall of the government have brought matters to such a lamentable pass that even when caught red-handed – after all, Baalu admitted lobbying for his sons’ firms – the wrong doer is getting away unscathed.