"You can't ask questions": AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj slams govt on Air India Plane Crash
New Delhi [India], June 14 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bhardwaj on Friday launched a sharp attack on the ruling government over the growing concerns over public safety in India. He questioned, through a series of tragedies that have happened in recent months, asking for the government's accountability for rising accidents and crime incidents.
In a post on X, Bhardwaj said, 'You go for a vacation in Kashmir, and terrorists shoot you point blank. You go to a Kumbh and it ends in a stampede, killing many. You go to a Railway station, you can get killed again in a stampede. You go in a flight for work/vacation, and it crashes. You are studying in your hostel, and the plane falls on you. Rapes, extortion, murders are everyday happening around u. But you can't ask Questions because No one of responsible.'
The Aam Aadmi Party leader's remark came after the Al-171 Boeing Dreamliner 787-8 aeroplane bound for London's Gatwick crashed shortly after taking off from the Ahmedabad International Airport on Thursday.
The airlines said only one out of the 242 people on board the aircraft survived the crash.
The aircraft was piloted by Captain Sumeet Sabharwal, a Line Training Captain with 8,200 hours of flying experience, assisted by First Officer Clive Kundar, who had logged 1,100 flying hours.
According to Air Traffic Control (ATC), the aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from runway 23. It made a Mayday call to ATC, but thereafter, the aircraft did not respond to the calls.
Immediately after departing Runway 23, the aircraft crashed outside the airport perimeter, and heavy black smoke began emanating from the accident site.
There were 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, seven Portuguese nationals, and one Canadian national on board the crashed plane, airline authorities said. (ANI)
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Scroll.in
36 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
The paradox of English: It is both a foreign tongue and a deeply embedded Indian language
Alongside their offensive against Urdu, India's language nationalists appear to have turned their ire on English. That is what one could conclude from the declaration by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a book launch in New Delhi on Thursday, when he predicted that 'soon a time would come when those speaking English will feel ashamed'. 'In our lifetime, we will see a society in which those speaking English will feel ashamed, that day is not far,' he said. 'I believe that the languages of our country are the ornament of our culture. Without them, we would not have been Bharatiya. Our country, its history, its culture, our dharma – if these have to be understood, it cannot be done in foreign languages.' Shah's statement quickly sparked a political backlash. Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, countered forcefully: 'English is not a dam, it is a bridge. English is not shameful, it is empowering. English is not a chain – it is a tool to break the chains.' Other opposition figures, including Trinamool Congress leaders Derek O'Brien and Sagarika Ghose, echoed this sentiment, slamming the home minister for what they saw as a regressive and divisive stance. Echoes of Mulayam Singh Shah's remarks recall a moment 35 years ago when Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was then chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, launched his own crusade against English. In May 1990, Yadav infamously declared English to be 'the language of foreigners and the elite', blaming it for perpetuating socio-economic disparity and cultivating feelings of inferiority among non-English speakers. His one-point mission: Angrezi hatao. Banish English. In a curious twist, Yadav, a self-declared supporter of Urdu urged Urdu-speaking communities to unite with Hindi speakers to oppose English. Urdu, having only recently been granted official status as Uttar Pradesh's second language, was now being weaponised against a new linguistic rival. This contradiction is not out of character for Indian politics, where language often becomes a proxy for identity, power and culture. The disdain for English in some Indian political circles can be traced back to the 1950s and '60s, to socialist leader Ram Manohar Lohia and even earlier, to Mohandas Gandhi and the Indian National Congress. Gandhi viewed English as an alien imposition that had displaced indigenous languages from their rightful place in Indian society. At Independence, the Indian Constitution made Hindi the official language, but allowed English to continue for a transitional period of 15 years. This compromise was pragmatic, not sentimental. English was seen as a necessary link language in a culturally and linguistically diverse nation. However, the efforts to impose Hindi on South India in the 1960s sparked widespread resistance and deepened the North-South linguistic divide. Even today, English continues to be viewed by many as a colonial vestige, despite its extensive indigenisation. The Lohia doctrine Lohia considered English to be not just a colonial leftover, but a barrier to original thought and mass education. He argued that true educational reform and people-oriented governance were possible only if conducted in the people's languages. Recognising India's cultural diversity, Lohia made exceptions for South Indian states, allowing them to retain English for inter-state and central communication for 50 years. However, his nuanced vision was distorted by his followers. The anti-English frenzy gained renewed vigour in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, leading to draconian steps like removing English from school curricula altogether. In Bihar in the 1970s, Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur reduced English to an optional subject, resulting in a generation of students branded as the 'Karpoori class' – matriculates without English proficiency. Mulayam Singh Yadav resurrected the campaign in the 1990s, giving it a political legitimacy that had long-lasting social consequences. Misplaced stereotypes Yadav's campaign also triggered unwarranted attacks on Christian institutions, which were accused of using English as a tool for religious conversion and elitist education. This conflation of English with Christianity mirrors the equally irrational equation in the Hindi heartland of Urdu with Islam. Such logic ignores the complex realities of Indian linguistic identity. English may have arrived with colonial Christians, but it soon became a key vehicle for political awakening and nation-building. It was through English that India's founding leaders – from Raja Rammohun Roy to Nehru – engaged with global currents of nationalism, democracy, liberty and modernity. The same language, intended by the British to produce obedient clerks, ended up producing freedom fighters, thinkers and reformers who led India's struggle for independence. More Indian than foreign? Despite its origins, English in India has long shed its colonial skin. It is the medium of scientific advancement, legal systems, administrative governance and higher education. It has played a vital role in the country's post-Independence progress – particularly in the globalisation era. Ironically, many politicians who publicly denounce English still prefer to send their children to English-medium schools. Even in the Hindi heartland, English remains a key administrative language. Today, English enjoys a paradoxical status: both a foreign tongue and a deeply embedded Indian language. English is also the mother tongue of the Anglo Indian community, a recognised minority in India, and serves as an official language in states like Nagaland. As globalisation continues to shape India's economic and cultural landscape, English remains the country's primary interface with the world. To treat it as a threat to Indian identity is to ignore the multifaceted reality of modern India. Language should be a medium of unity, not a tool of discord. English, like all Indian languages, must be valued for its integrative potential, not vilified for its past. The country does not need another round of linguistic chauvinism. Instead, India should recognise the multilingual richness of English – and the maturity to embrace it.
Deccan Herald
42 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Operation Sindhu: 827 Indian nationals brought back from Iran so far, says MEA
#OperationSindhu flight brings citizens home. 🇮🇳 evacuated 290 Indian nationals from Iran, including students and religious pilgrims by a charter flight. The flight arrived in New Delhi at 2330 hrs on 20 June and was received by Secretary (CPV& OIA) Arun Chatterjee. Government…
Hindustan Times
43 minutes ago
- Hindustan Times
CBI arrests man in Mathura for child sexual abuse
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Saturday arrested a man from Mathura, for sexually assaulting minor children and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the agency said. he accused, identified as Shyam Bihari Singh, a resident of Vati, Chhata area in Mathura, was taken into custody following searches at his residence on June 19. (Sourced) The accused, identified as Shyam Bihari Singh, a resident of Vati, Chhata area in Mathura, was taken into custody following searches at his residence on June 19. During the operation, agency officials seized multiple electronic devices containing incriminating evidence, according to a statement released by the CBI. Forensic examination of the seized material revealed a large volume of CSAM, including images and videos. The content was verified with INTERPOL's international child sexual exploitation (ICSE) database and cyber tipline reports (CTRs) shared by Google with the Indian cyber crime coordination centre (I4C), under the union home ministry. Officials said that the recovered content included footage showing minor children being sexually assaulted, harassed, and threatened. Investigators also found that obscene photographs had been taken by the accused in Mathura. 'The minor victims were traced and rescued as part of a swift and coordinated effort following the forensic discovery,' a CBI spokesperson confirmed. 'Singh is currently in judicial custody.' The case was registered suo motu by the CBI on June 17, invoking provisions related to the creation, storage, and dissemination of CSAM. Officials clarified that no formal complaint had been filed by the victims or their families before the CBI's intervention.
