BJP questions Rahul Gandhi’s ‘silence’ on flydubai incident, Captain Smit’s bravery

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Sunday (October 4, 2026) questioned the Congress over what it termed the Opposition party’s “silence” on Indian pilot Smit Machchhar, who thwarted his co-pilot’s alleged attempt to crash a Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight.

Rajya Sabha MP and BJP spokesperson Sudhanshu Trivedi termed the lack of a statement from the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on the incident as, “the Gandhi family’s silent support to terrorism”.

“The entire country should view the conduct of the Congress’s top leadership very seriously, as this raises many questions,” Mr. Trivedi said.

“Sonia Gandhi, the rajmata (queen mother) of the first family, whose eyes once welled up with tears for the accused (killed) in the Batla House encounter, has shown no trace of compassion for Captain Smit. The princess (an apparent reference to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra), who used to carry a bag bearing the Palestinian cause, has failed to produce even a handkerchief of sympathy from it,” the BJP leader said.

“Rahul Gandhi, the wayward prince of the Gandhi family, who was once so distressed over Gaza, seems to be so terrified of the vote bank that he is not able to utter a single word to hail the valour of Captain Smit Machchhar,” Mr. Trivedi said, demanding a response from the Congress’ top leadership.

“I feel that the entire country should view the conduct of the Congress’s top leadership very seriously,” he added.

Captain Machchhar was stabbed and seriously injured by his Omani co-pilot in the cockpit of flydubai flight FZ1073 en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday (September 30, 2026), in an alleged attempt to bring down the plane that was carrying 174 passengers.

Mr. Trivedi also attacked the Congress on its recent appointments of Aradhana Mishra as that party’s Uttar Pradesh chief, and of Imran Masood as working president of the Uttar Pradesh Congress Committee. “This demonstrates how vast the gap has become between Mahatma Gandhi and the Gandhis of today,” he said.

“On the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, who is a symbol of peace and non-violence, Congress has appointed Imran Masood, who is infamous for his remark that he would ‘chop Modi into pieces’, as the party’s Uttar Pradesh unit working president,” Mr. Trivedi said.

Ms. Mishra, he alleged, had once stopped U.P. Congress workers from raising the slogan ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’, instead asking them to raise ‘Congress zindabad’ slogans.