Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra on Thursday filed a formal complaint with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), alleging that she was “harassed” by a group of men on board an IndiGo flight while she was traveling to Delhi to attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence.
In a post on social media platform
Read also | ‘Didi, you didn’t lose’: Akhilesh Yadav supports Mamata, TMC after election debacle in Bengal
Mahua Moitra faces ‘chorus’ chants.
“Chur chur, chur tmc, chur peche, chur paipo “(Thieves, thieves, TMC is a thief, aunt is a thief, my nephew is a thief)” the men shouted. The slogans were directed at TMC chief Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
The Krishnanagar MP also faced chants of “Jai Shri Ram” during the episode. She described the incident as “harassment” and said it affected her safety on the plane.
She said: “This is not ‘citizen rage’. It is harassment and a violation of my safety on a plane. These reckless people cannot get away with this harassment inside the plane.”
In another post, she added: “This is the culture of the BJP. Why should anyone be surprised?”
Moitra said she initially ignored the matter and attended the parliamentary meeting. However, after watching the video online, she decided to speak out about the incident.
A complaint has been filed regarding the “chorus chant” incident.
In her complaint to the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, the TMC MP alleged that the “miscreants” engaged in “loud and continuous chanting of political slogans of a partisan nature, clearly aimed at intimidating and humiliating me because of my political affiliation.”
It also claimed that the group used “politically charged slogans and chants that had the clear purpose and effect of stigmatizing me based on my political affiliation; personal abuse, taunts, insults and gender slurs directed at me, including remarks designed to provoke, intimidate and humiliate; and recording me on mobile devices without my consent, accompanied by warnings to others on board to join in the harassment – a circumstance that strongly suggests that this conduct was intentional.” “It has been rehearsed and prepared to circulate on social media.”
Seeking action against the airline staff as well, it alleged that the cabin crew “remained passive bystanders” and failed to intervene or seek help during the incident.
It urged the DGCA to direct IndiGo to file a complaint about “unruly behavior by its captain” within 48 hours and immediately constitute an internal committee to adjudicate it within the mandatory 30-day period.
The MP also sought a show-cause notice against IndiGo and all cabin crew members operating the flight, asking them to explain why they “failed to discharge their legal responsibilities”.
IndiGo is yet to issue an official statement on the matter.
