Now Reading: BJP attacks Congress over silence on pilot Smit Machchhar
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BJP attacks Congress over silence on pilot Smit Machchhar
BJP MP Sudhanshu Trivedi has attacked the Congress party for what he called its silence on the bravery of Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who saved passengers on a Flydubai flight from Dubai to Israel after a co-pilot attack. Trivedi questioned why Congress leaders who had spoken on Zakir Naik, Afzal Guru, Burhan Wani, Yakub Memon and the Batla House encounter have not praised Machchhar.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had praised Machchhar on 1 October, calling his courage inspirational and saying he foiled a plot to kill nearly 180 passengers. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh also lauded Machchhar's action. Trivedi, however, targeted the Gandhi family directly, demanding a response from Rahul, Sonia and Priyanka Gandhi, and accusing the party of double standards and vote-bank politics.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Aaj Tak and TV9 Hindi both report the BJP attack identically, but TV9 notes that Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Jairam Ramesh had already praised Machchhar on 1 and 2 October, a fact Aaj Tak omits. The BJP framing, carried verbatim by both outlets, ignores these statements to accuse the entire Congress leadership of silence. The balanced reading is that the party's top echelons have spoken, but the BJP's attack singles out the Gandhi family, which has not commented. The coverage leaves open whether the Gandhis will respond.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 pro-government
Sources (2): aajtak.in (pro government), tv9hindi.com (pro government)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
