AAP joins BJP, Congress in Rafale 'housing society' video club!

It seems satirical video explainers are the 'in thing' for Indian political parties these days to explain complex issues like the contentious Rafale deal! After the BJP and Congress released videos explaining their position on the Rafale deal, the Aam Aadmi Party jumped into the fray with its own Rafale deal video on Wednesday.

Like the Congress and BJP videos, the AAP video also tries to explain the Rafale deal using a housing society example. But unlike the Congress and BJP, AAP enlisted Preeti Sharma Menon, one of its national executive members, instead of an actor.

Like the Congress and BJP videos, Menon gives the example of a housing society buying locks from a French company, but snidely labels both the main national parties as corrupt. The AAP video also refers to other aspects of the Rafale deal not included in the Congress and BJP videos such as Egypt buying the aircraft for a lower price. Not surprisingly, the AAP Rafale video, at over three minutes, is longer than the ones from BJP and Congress.

By claiming, “she would suggest to Arvind to start an andolan,” Menon seems to hint that AAP could resort to an agitation over the Rafale deal.

On Monday, the BJP attempted to defend the decision of the Narendra Modi government to buy 36 Rafale fighters from France by releasing a video featuring actress Pallavi Joshi, with party IT cell chief Amit Malviya calling it “Rafale deal for dummies”. Joshi used the example of a housing society buying safety locks from a French company to argue how the Modi government obtained a better deal for the Rafale, claiming it saved Rs 12,500 crore.

The Congress responded on Tuesday by releasing a video featuring a woman artiste talking about a housing society secretary negotiating for locks from a French company to show how the Modi government cancelled a “better” deal negotiated by the Congress-led UPA government for 126 Rafales.

In addition to using an indirect example (of a housing society) to explain their views on the Rafale deal, all three parties have fired subtle volleys at their main rival leaders. If in the BJP's video, Joshi pokes fun at Rahul Gandhi's 'potato factory' remark in Uttar Pradesh two years ago, both Congress and AAP take jibes at Modi's recent claim of methane from sewers being used to provide gas to make tea.

Since the general elections are still months away, many more 'Rafale explainers' may well be on the way.