BJP presses Congress for response over pilot praised after flydubai incident

The Bharatiya Janata Party has accused Congress leaders of remaining silent after Indian pilot Smit Machchhar was seriously injured during an incident on a flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv. BJP national spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi on Sunday demanded a response from Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and other senior figures. He described the alleged lack of public comment as evidence of what he called the “Gandhi family’s silent support to terrorism”.

The incident occurred on September 30 aboard flydubai flight FZ1073, which was travelling from Dubai to Tel Aviv with 174 passengers, according to the supplied report. Machchhar was allegedly stabbed by his Omani co-pilot in the cockpit in an attempted effort to bring down the aircraft. The pilot was seriously injured.

Trivedi questioned why Gandhi had not praised Machchhar’s conduct. He also made personal and political criticisms of Sonia Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, referring to their previous positions on issues involving Gaza and the Palestinian cause. The BJP spokesperson broadened his attack to recent Congress appointments in Uttar Pradesh.

He criticised the appointment of Aradhana Mishra as the party’s Uttar Pradesh chief and Imran Masood as working president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee. Trivedi alleged that Masood had previously made a threatening remark about Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also accused Mishra of having once discouraged Congress workers from raising the slogan “Bharat Mata ki Jai”.

The supplied material records the BJP’s allegations and demands but does not include a response from Congress, Gandhi or the other leaders named. The report also does not provide further findings about the circumstances of the flight incident.