Raja's long walk

The granting of bail in the 2G case to former telecom minister Andimuthu Raja, who had been kept in jail for 15 months, was accompanied by much drama. His lips were seen to be moving in prayer as the decision was being read out. The dozens of DMK men in crisp white veshtis who thronged the court let out a cheer. And when Mr Raja himself finally walked out, he was seen blowing kisses to his dancing supporters. Public reaction was not quite as friendly. Twitter and the airwaves bubbled with predictable outrage. Unusually enough, one of the few sensible voices was that of Subramanian Swamy, not otherwise known for restraint and calm — on 2G, among other things. “Our legal perspective is still tribal,” he wrote on Twitter. “The surprise is not that Raja is out on bail, but that he was in jail for so long without bail.”