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If you honour Rajesh Pilot, why insult son: Malviya to Gehlot amid 1966 row
Why didn't you think of Rajesh Pilot's honour when you called his son Sachin Pilot ‘nikamma’, Amit Malviya charged at Ashok Gehlot.
Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday waded into the Amit Malviya-Sachin Pilot Twitter (now known as X) fight that started after BJP IT cell chief Malviya claimed that Rajesh Pilot dropped bombs on Mizoram in 1966 and Sachin Pilot fact-checked him. The war of words went on with Malviya now targetting Gehlot as Malviya asked Gehlot if he honors Rajesh Pilot, why he doesn't respect his son Sachin Pilot.
"Congress leader Shri Rajesh Pilot was a brave pilot of the Indian Air Force. By insulting them, the BJP is insulting the sacrifice of the Indian Air Force. The whole country should condemn this," Gehlot tweeted on Wednesday.
"At least you worry about Rajesh Pilot's honour. But if you really respect Rajesh Pilot, then you would not have sacked his son Sachin Pilot from the cabinet after insulting him. And would not have used disrespectful words like nikamma, nakara, gaddar for him in public. Why did you not think of Rajesh Pilot's honour every time you insulted Sachin Pilot?" Malviya wrote on Thursday.
Amit Malviya vs Sachin Pilot: What is the row over Rajesh Pilot?
On August 13, Amit Malviya claimed Rajesh Pilot and Suresh Kalmadi flew the Air Force plane which dropped bombs on Mizoram in 1966. Later, both Rajesh Pilot and Kalmadi got Congress tickets, Malviya wrote. "It is clear that Indira Gandhi rewarded and respected those who carried out the raids on their own people in the northeast," Malviya's tweet read.
Sachin Pilot countered the claim and said the BJP IT cell chief had wrong dates and facts. "Yes, as an Indian Air Force pilot, my late father did drop bombs. But that was on erstwhile East Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak war and not as you claim, on Mizoram on the 5th of March 1966. He was commissioned into the IAF only on 29th October 1966!" Sachin Pilot wrote.
1966 Mizoram bombing
The 1966 Mizoram bombing came into discourse after PM Modi referred to it in his reply to the no-cofidence motion in Parliament. Accusing Congress of apathy for the northeast, PM Modi said during Indira Gandhi's time, the government bombed in Mizoram.
The Congress replied to the accusation and said it was a bold decision taken by Indira Gandhi to save Mizoram from secessionist forces that drew support from Pakistan and China.
