BJP Slams Gandhi Family Over Silence on Captain Machchhar, Alleges ‘Support for Terror’

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday stepped up its attack on the Congress leadership, accusing the Gandhi family of maintaining silence over Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar, who helped save more than 170 passengers after being attacked by his co-pilot aboard a flydubai flight.

Addressing a press conference, BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi alleged that the absence of any public statement or social media post from senior members of the Gandhi family amounted to a "silence" on an act of courage by an Indian pilot who was seriously injured during the incident.

Trivedi contrasted their alleged silence with the positions he said Congress leaders had taken on other controversial issues and accused the party of following what he described as a selective approach to matters involving terrorism and national security.

"On such a proud occasion for India, there are also some embarrassing moments. Not a single word, social media post or press statement has come from the first family of Congress for Captain Smit," Trivedi said.

He also targeted Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, referring to their past statements and positions on issues involving Gaza, Palestine and other politically sensitive matters.

Trivedi alleged that the Congress leadership had shown greater concern for issues abroad or for individuals accused in terrorism-related cases than for Captain Machchhar, who, according to reports, acted to prevent a potentially catastrophic situation aboard the flight.

Calling the issue a clash between two political ideologies, the BJP leader alleged that one side "silently supports terror", while claiming that the BJP represents an approach that is prepared to risk lives to protect others.

He further cited past remarks attributed to Congress and opposition leaders concerning figures such as Zakir Naik, Afzal Guru, Burhan Wani and Yakub Memon, as well as the Batla House encounter, and demanded an explanation from the Congress leadership over its alleged lack of response to the pilot's actions.

The BJP also attacked the Congress over its recent organisational appointments in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh.

Trivedi questioned the appointment of Samajwadi Party-turned-Congress leader Imran Masood as the party's Working President in Uttar Pradesh. Referring to controversial remarks attributed to Masood during the 2014 Lok Sabha election campaign, he criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi for subsequently associating with Masood and accused the party of compromising on its political standards.

He drew a comparison between Mahatma Gandhi and what he called "today's Gandhis", arguing that the Congress leadership's present-day choices were inconsistent with the values associated with the freedom movement's most prominent leader.

Trivedi also questioned the appointment of Aradhana Misra as the new Uttar Pradesh Congress chief, citing a video that he claimed showed her preventing party workers from raising the slogan "Bharat Mata ki Jai".

"Rahul Gandhi should answer why such people were appointed as office-bearers," he said.

The BJP leader also referred to disagreements and public statements by Congress and Samajwadi Party leaders ahead of the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, claiming that tensions within the opposition alliance reflected growing internal differences.

The Congress has not, in the remarks cited by the BJP, responded to the specific allegations raised by Trivedi regarding its leadership's response to Captain Machchhar's actions.

The controversy comes amid heightened political debate over the flydubai incident, in which Captain Machchhar was reportedly attacked by his co-pilot during the flight and subsequently helped avert a major in-flight emergency before the aircraft was diverted to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.