Air Vistara posted a picture of its staff with Major General (retd) G D Bakshi, leading to a social media backlash on Sunday. It then deleted the tweet, drawing more anger.
After tweeting a picture of Major General (retired) G D Bakshi on Twitter, saying they were ‘honoured’ to host him, the airline faced criticism for the tweet.
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Later, when it deleted the tweet under pressure, ironically it got even more criticism for deleting the tweet.
There was one thing both sides had in common – they said they would boycott the airline in the future.
Vistara’s Twitter handle posted the picture of Bakshi sitting in business class with two air hostesses posing behind him.
“Honored to have Major General GD Bakshi (Retd.), a decorated Kargil war hero, onboard our flight today. Thank you Sir, for your service to the nation,” it read.
Soon after the tweet was posted, the backlash started.
Rifat Jawaid, journalist and founder of the news portal Janta Ka Reporter, tweeted: “I quite liked @airvistara but their love for this bigot shows that either they are ignorant or the airline condones Bakshi’s anti-Muslim stance. Will they honour Sadhvi Pragya next? No more flying with Vistara,”.
I quite liked @airvistara but their love for this bigot shows that either they are ignorant or the airline condones Bakshi’s anti-Muslim stance. Will they honour Sadhvi Pragya next? No more flying with Vistara. @JantaKaReporter https://t.co/pLKNO9eNXl
— Rifat Jawaid (@RifatJawaid) April 21, 2019
After the backlash, Vistara deleted their tweet which drew more anger.
BJP Delhi spokesperson Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga tweeted: “.@airvistara deleted Honourable @adgpi Officer General GD Bakshi Pic after Anti Army Gang Pressure. I will never travel on Air Vistara till thn they tweet Pic again & apologies , RT if you will #BoycottVistara.”
. @airvistara deleted Honourable @adgpi Officer General GD Bakshi Pic after Anti Army Gang Pressure. I will never travel on Air Vistara till thn they tweet Pic again & apologies , RT if you will #BoycottVistara pic.twitter.com/rbyAvgEIDn
— Chowkidar Tajinder Pal Singh Bagga (@TajinderBagga) April 21, 2019
Vistara has issued a statement after the backlash from both sides.
Statement from Vistara pic.twitter.com/KJ935w2sfQ
— Vistara (@airvistara) April 21, 2019
Vistara, which started operations in 2015, is a joint venture between Tata Sons (51 per cent ownership) and Singapore Airlines (49 per cent).