Sachin Pilot clarifies Amit Malviya’s misinformation about the Mizoram Airstrike. Read more…
Claim
Rajesh Pilot and Suresh Kalmadi were flying the Indian Air Force planes that bombed Aizawl, the capital of Mizoram, on 5 March 1966. Later both became MPs on Congress ticket and ministers in the government. It is clear that Indira Gandhi gave a place in politics as a reward, and gave respect to those who carried out air raids on their own people in the North East.
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Explanation
In the viral tweet posted by Amit Malviya, National in-charge of BJP’S IT Department, on his official page states, “Rajesh Pilot and Suresh Kalmadi were flying the Indian Airforce planes and bombed Aizwal, which the Mizoram’s capital on 5 March 1966. Later they both became MPs in Congress and ministers in the government. He further added that Indira Gandhi gave them a place in politics as a reward and she respected those who carried out raids on their own people in the North East.” This tweet garnered around 1.4M views and we decided to check how much authenticity his claim holds. Come, let’s go through the facts.
What’s the truth?
When we started our research, we saw multiple replies that pointed out that the tweet is fake by many users in the comment section of Amit Malviya’s post. So, we intensified our search and came to know that the so-called airstrike mentioned by Malviya happened but unfortunately, the late pilot Rajesh has not even joined the Indian Air Force at the time of the incident. Moreover, Sachin Pilot, the leader of the Congress took to his X account yesterday and clarified the misinformation provided with a tweet and the certificate attached from the President of India. When we read through the message and the certificate, it is perfectly clear that the dates mentioned by Malviya are completely wrong and misleading.
What did the attached certificate provided by Sachin Pilot say?
According to the certificate, Rajesh Pilot was appointed only on 29, October 1966 into the IAF. This proves that during the Mizoram airstrike which happened on 5, March 1966 he was not even commissioned into the Indian Air Force. Further, Sachin Pilot, son of the late pilot, Rajesh adds that his father indeed dropped bombs on East Pakistan during the 1971 Indo-Pak war and not as Malviya claimed during the Mizoram, Aizwal airstrike.
A book ‘Rajest Pilot‘ written by Rama Pilot is a biography of Rajeshwar Prasad, who came to be known by his adopted surname, Pilot after he becomes an Air Force Officer. This book also mentions that Rajesh Pilot was offered a commission by the then Air Chief Marshal Arjan Singh on 29, October 1966.
This proves that the above tweet along with video clip shared by Amit Malviya is false and deceptive. Youturn fact-checked some of the misinformation shared by Amit Malviya earlier and published articles which can be read here.
Conclusion:
Thus, we conclude that the joining dates of late Rajesh Pilot doesn’t match Amit Malviya’s viral claim. Yes, the airstrike happened on 5 March 1966, but Rajesh Pilot joined the IAF only on 29, October 1966, which is some seven months later.
Amit Malviya as the head of the BJP IT department should feel responsible and check the facts at least once in his life rather than spreading misinformation and lies whenever he tweets on his X account.
