Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra heckled during flight; blames BJP, lodges complaint

Kolkata: Mahua Moitra—the Lok Sabha MP from the Krishnanagar constituency in West Bengal and a senior leader of the Trinamool Congress party—has alleged that she was subjected to misconduct and a serious breach of security while aboard a flight. Sharing a video regarding the incident on social media, she stated that the event occurred on Thursday while she was traveling from Kolkata to Delhi to attend a meeting of a parliamentary committee.

What did Mahua Moitra say? 

She recounted that, during the journey, a group of individuals who had boarded the aircraft (Flight 6E 719) not only stared at her as they passed by but, after the plane landed in Delhi, also chanted provocative and offensive slogans while recording the entire episode. Describing the group's actions as an act of harassment and a violation of her safety within the aircraft, she filed a formal seven-page complaint with the airline and demanded strict action against the accused individuals.

Sharing the video related to the incident, Mahua Moitra wrote in her post: "Alert! Today, I traveled to Delhi on official duty to attend a meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Defence. I was seated in seat number 1F on Indigo flight 6E-719. During boarding, a group of 4-6 individuals entered the aircraft, stared at me as they walked past, and took their seats in the rear section of the plane."

What did Mahua Moitra say about the incident? 

The Trinamool MP further explained, "When the flight landed—just moments before the doors opened—they engaged in this behavior (chanting slogans) and recorded a video of it."

Commenting further on the individuals' conduct, she categorically refused to interpret it as an expression of public anger, explicitly characterizing it instead as "harassment" and a violation of her personal safety while on board the flight. She added, "It is absolutely unacceptable that these unruly individuals should be allowed to get away with engaging in such harassment inside an aircraft." 

Following this, Moitra called upon the airline, IndiGo, to make the crew report public in order to shame these passengers; she also demanded that such passengers be placed on a 'No-Fly List.' She tagged the Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Ram Mohan Naidu, in her post and requested that he, too, take action in this matter.

What Was Seen and Heard in the Video? 

In the video shared by Mahua, passengers can be seen standing to disembark from the flight. Meanwhile, towards the front of the cabin, some individuals could be heard chanting slogans such as "Jai Shri Ram," "Jai-Jai Shri Ram," and "Thief, thief, thief—TMC is a thief," as well as "Didi is a thief, Bhai is a thief—everyone in Trinamool is a thief" and "Thief, thief—everyone in Trinamool is a thief." Although the faces of those chanting these slogans were not visible, it was evident that they were doing so to provoke the Trinamool Congress MP.

Subsequently, in another post, she reshared the video and explained her reasons for doing so. She stated, "I had initially ignored this incident and proceeded to my meeting; however, I later received this very video from some people who informed me that 'Sanghis' were attempting to make it go viral. It was only then that I decided to raise this issue on social media."

In her post, Moitra wrote: "This is BJP's culture. Why is anyone surprised by this? I ignored it and went straight from the airport to my meeting. However, I raised the matter only after people sent me the video that 'Sanghis' were trying to make viral. IndiGo has informed me that they require a formal complaint, which I am currently sending to them."