National Herald: Congress versus Subramanian Swamy is about politics before law

So the Gandhis didn't go to jail after all. So what was being billed all day as the big news day - Sonia Rahul haazir ho - turned out to be a T-20 style "quickie". The court appearance lasted barely five minutes.

A routine summons became a show of strength, an equally routine bail was pitched as a political victory. In India, everything (well, almost everything) becomes a Tamasha. Maybe, that's what happens when we live in a country with more than 400 24x7 news channels. We are a carnivorous beast that needs constant feeding.

Maybe, that's what happens when a party becomes a family fiefdom: the idea of the Gandhis in court is seen as sacrilege by Congress loyalists who must mark their attendance in a classic display of sycophancy. Or maybe that's what happens when you have Subramanian Swamy as petitioner, someone who relishes the idea of punching well above his political weight, who likes nothing better than a high profile political controversy where he is the centre of attention (did you see any BJP member with him when he marched into court? )

The Congress party has cried vendetta for the last week; the BJP has hit back and accused the Congress of invoking feudal loyalties. A court matter has become a political "war" freezing out the winter session of parliament. Competitive personal accusations have replaced any dissection of the National Herald case itself.

Maybe this was always about politics first and the law much later. Swamy wants to teach the Gandhis a lesson, the Congress first family is looking to galvanise its demoralised flock. Maybe, this big fight will continue till 2019 atleast. After all, there are still nearly four years to go for the next general elections.

So expect more such made-for-tv events and even more predictable rhetoric: the Gandhis targeting Narendra Modi with their faithful flock in attendance and the BJP questioning the legitimacy of the Congress leadership.

The Gandhis won't take questions, neither will the prime minister. We the citizens of India will be voyeurs, having just watched the first act of what promises to be a long running drama.

The Gandhis have gone back to their 10, Janpath fortress, the prime minister will fly off to Moscow soon and Swamy now can look forward to his Lutyens bungalow.

And I can only hope that the next court date isn't a weekend (oh hell, just checked my calendar: 20th February is a Saturday again!)

(This post first appeared on the writer's Facebook wall.)