• By Kamal Kumar
  • Wed, 17 Jan 2024 04:35 PM (IST)
  • Source:JND
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Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, on Wednesday, issued a strong rebuttal on Congress Leader Shashi Tharoor's charge of 'rampant flight delays' and mismanagement witnessed across the airports of the country. The Minister's response came following a series of 'X' posts by Thaoor who shared news clippings and articles, dissing the aviation ministry for severe mismanagement and disorder.

While calling Tharoor an armchair arm-chair critic, Scindia took a jibe at his posts saying articles shared by him on X do not count as research and that Congress lacks the depth to tackle such technical sectors.

"It is for someone who is lost in his esoteric world of thesaurus that data mining of selective press articles from the internet qualifies as "research". Here are some facts for arm-chair critic Shashi Tharoor and the Cong IT Cell that might help tackle their lack of depth in understanding of technical sectors like civil aviation," Mr Scinida said in a post on X.

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This political slugfest came after many flights were either delayed or cancelled in the past few days owing to the dense fog and severe congestion at the airports. The mismanagement by airlines and the airport authorities prompted the aviation watchdog to issue a fresh CAR guideline on Monday.

Earlier, an incident of violence with a pilot inside a plane was also reported. In a video which gained huge viewership over social media, a discontented passenger tried to hit the pilot of the plane which was running 12 hours late from the scheduled time.

Within a couple days of the earlier incident, a video of people sitting on tarmac and eating food while waiting for their flight, went viral, prompting another series of criticism for the aviation ministry.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor questioned the government and airlines' readiness to handle landings in adverse weather conditions. He pointed out that flight delays of up to 12 hours, along with passengers being stranded on the tarmac, highlight the "sorry state of affairs in India's aviation sector."

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"Delhi Airport has been in chaos recently. The young professional wanted to go home for Makar Sankranti. The Army officer was excited to visit his ancestral village for Lohri. The anxious son trying to get home to take care of an unwell parent. Thousands of peoples’ lives and schedules have been disrupted by a regular, predictable, foggy winter day. It’s a ModiGovt-made disaster, a result of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s neglect and incompetence," Tharoor had written in his first out of five similar posts.

Mr Scindia countered all the points raised by the Congress MP, highlighting the efforts made to ensure smooth operations. He expressed his disapproval of the incident where passengers were compelled to eat meals on the tarmac, deeming it unacceptable.