Kerala has once again stumbled into an argument about political morality by beginning with the wrong question, “Who paid for the ride?” V.D. Satheesan’s answer is reassuringly simple - not the government. But that is precisely where the interesting question begins, rather than ends. The Chief Minister travels to rain-hit Malappuram in a chartered aircraft arranged by a private individual. Journalists ask who paid for it, and V.D. Satheesan declines to reveal the sponsor’s identity. And then comes the defence that has become something of a universal solvent in Indian politics, “not a rupee came from the government treasury!” One is tempted to ask whether the treasury is really the only thing that belongs to the public.

Satheesan’s argument would seem pretty straightforward. The helicopter arrangement had expired, six people had died in Malappuram and he needed to reach the disaster site quickly. An acquaintance arranged an aircraft. And why, he asks, should there be anything objectionable about accepting such help? He went a step further and said that he would use such private arrangements again if necessary. He also defended ministers accepting sponsored foreign travel and his colleague K.M. Shaji travelling in a friend’s Range Rover.

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The problem is that “the government didn’t pay” answers only one question. It does not tell us who paid or why that person paid, nor does it tell us whether he/she has business before the government. It does not tell us whether the recipient of the favour might subsequently be in a position to influence matters affecting the........

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