Shashi Tharoor has been flagging fliers’ woes over the previous couple of weeks

New Delhi:

In a scathing comeback to Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia’s armchair swipe, Congress chief Shashi Tharoor mentioned the BJP chief has adopted the “Modi Government’s uncaring attitude to the public” since he switched sides.

Mr Scindia, who stop the Congress in 2020 to affix the BJP, had earlier hit back at Mr Tharoor’s posts on fliers’ woes over the previous couple of weeks as a result of flight delays and different lapses by airways. Calling the Congress chief an “arm-chair critic”, the minister had mentioned sharing “selective” information articles doesn’t depend as analysis. He had cited information to indicate how the aviation sector has developed underneath the Narendra Modi authorities.

6/6 My pricey @JM_Scindia, it is a pity that since switching sides you’ve gotten adopted the Modi Government’s uncaring perspective to the general public. As @RahulGandhi mentioned through the #BharatJodoNyayYatra, it is clear the struggling of the individuals is just not the struggling of this Government. Crores… https://t.co/AoJsUDEG1Hpic.twitter.com/2702g5lEGx

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 18, 2024

Doubling down, Mr Tharoor posted on X this morning that he’s not denying that there was development however is stating “evident shortcomings” within the authorities’s planning and its failure to proactively deal with predictable issues.

Taking a dig at Mr Scindia’s change to the BJP, he mentioned, “My dear @JM_Scindia, it’s a pity that since switching sides you have adopted the Modi Government’s uncaring attitude to the public. As @RahulGandhi said during the #BharatJodoNyayYatra, it’s clear the suffering of the people is not the suffering of this Government.”

“Crores worth of economic value lost, lakhs of lives disrupted, and thousands of people unable to go about their daily lives during this festive season – and all the Hon Minister can do is to engage in name-calling, Mr Tharoor added.

He said he is not denying that there has been “some development” or blaming the government for the dense fog conditions that paralysed flight services, especially in North India. “I’m stating that there are a variety of evident shortcomings within the Govt’s planning & its failure to take pro-active motion on issues that might simply have been anticipated,” he said.

Hitting back at the minister’s armchair jibe, he said, “The Hon Minister can be higher served by shifting his focus from my arm-chair and my diligent researchers to the agony of the passengers. Perhaps, then he would discover time to repair the myriad incompetencies, absolute lack of preparation, and the evident loopholes in his Ministry’s functioning.”

Earlier, Mr Tharoor had questioned why Delhi airport was not prepared well in advance for predictable foggy conditions in winter. In response, Mr Scindia had cited how pollution control exercises had delayed work and also said corrective actions are being taken for any laxity on the part of airlines.

Air travel services and air carriers have been in the news for the wrong reasons over the past couple of weeks. Besides hundreds of flights cancelled or delayed daily, lapses in timely and transparent communication to passengers and other services have also come to the fore.

In one case, an Air India flight was delayed by 17 hours and passengers were seen eating their meals on the tarmac. In another shocker, a passenger was locked in the toilet of a SpiceJet aircraft for the whole duration of a Mumbai-Bengaluru flight.

In some cases, passengers’ rising tempers over delays led to unfortunate incidents. An IndiGo pilot was attacked by a passenger while he was announcing a delay. On the social media, many users, including public figures, have flagged poor services by air carriers despite charging high ticket prices.