Surgical strikes, proofs and the politics of staying relevant

New Delhi : The dust had barely settled on the storm created by the surgical strikes across the Line of Control, when Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal asked for proofs ‘to call out Pakistan’s bluff’. 

The uproar is loud yet understandable because of the magnitude of emotions involved. After all, this is the first notable retaliation to the years of violence that cross border terrorism has created in India. The fact that Pakistan is asking for proofs further places the two on the same side. That may not be a fair position, here’s why.

Let’s put things into perspective. We are at the fag end of the year and 2017 has three crucial elections for the Aam Aadmi Party. Punjab, Gujarat and Goa, three states currently in a leadership vacuum just like the case of Delhi in 2013. The first two of those states also share their borders with Pakistan. These are also the first major elections after the Lok Sabha polls from AAP’s perspective.

Kejriwal and AAP cannot afford to become irrelevant. Even if it is bad publicity, it gives AAP supporters the sense that their leader is a key figure, albeit inconsequential in the present case.

Ask the mother of a 5 year old with a newborn sibling and she will tell you what all the older one does to grab the attention. We barely grow out of our tendencies and this is just one of them. The longer this goes on, the better for AAP and as soon as the videos come out, there might be another controversial reaction, maybe from Congress this time, your guess is as good as mine.

Disclaimer: The writer is responsible for thoughts written in the opinion.