Whether it is tainted ministers or funding elections or setting behaviour norms for Parliament, political parties are masters at the art of pointing the finger at their opponents. The classic case is of politicians with pending criminal charges. Should they be made ministers? Instead of confronting this tricky question holistically, efforts are made to make spurious distinctions. Thus, my-tainted-ministers-are-good; your-tainted-ministers-are-bad. If I fatally stab my neighbour or create mayhem which leads to the loss of hundreds of lives, my alibi is "political agitation". The distinction is a self-serving fraud. Similarly, the Congress defence of "quota ministers" is wholly unacceptable. If a coalition partner like Laloo Prasad Yadav insists on bringing in a tainted team, his bluff should be called. Mr Yadav was as, if not more, anxious to ensure that a Congress-led coalition came into office. Sooner rather than later he would have given in. Alas, the Congress did not press him too hard. You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to conclude that political parties will always find an excuse to duck the problem.