New Delhi: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor and Union minister of civil aviation Jyotiraditya Scindia exchanged a back on forth on X (formerly Twitter) over the course of two days after the former blamed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government for the fog-related and other delays that hit flight operations the past week.On Thursday, Tharoor accused Scindia of adopting the “Modi government’s uncaring attitude to the public” after switching to the BJP from the Congress, following which the minister responded to a series of tweets put out by the Congress MP on January 16.“The Hon Minister would be better served by shifting his focus from my arm-chair and my diligent researchers to the agony of the passengers. Perhaps, then he would find time to fix the myriad incompetencies, absolute lack of preparation, and the glaring loopholes in his Ministry’s functioning,” Tharoor wrote on Thursday.6/6 My dear @JM_Scindia, it’s a pity that since switching sides you have adopted the Modi Government’s uncaring attitude to the public. As @RahulGandhi said during the #BharatJodoNyayYatra, it’s clear the suffering of the people is not the suffering of this Government. Crores… https://t.co/AoJsUDEG1H pic.twitter.com/2702g5lEGx— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 18, 2024The exchange of words first started when Tharoor in a series of tweets on January 16, called the flight disruptions a “Modi Govt-made disaster, a result of the Ministry of Civil Aviation’s neglect and incompetence.”Attaching links to news articles, Tharoor said that in in 2008, at a cost of Rs 1,000 crore, Delhi IGI Airport got a brand-new CAT III-B compliant runway-that allows pilots to land even when there is fog or low visibility of 50 metres.“In total, Delhi has 4 runways, 2 of which are CAT III-B compliant. In all its wisdom, the Modi government began maintenance work on one of the two CAT III-B runways in September 2023, fully aware that it would not be ready for the winter!”He added that making matters worse, “a crane from some other construction work was blocking operation of CAT III-B on one runway, even after repairs were complete.”He said that while pilots must be trained in CAT III-B landing, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the DGCA failed to ensure that airlines have sufficiently trained pilots and that pilots flying to Delhi during fog conditions were CAT III-B trained.He said that while the civil aviation ministry had said that the visibility was below 50 metres so CAT III-B would not have been enough, he accused the Modi government of not planning a single CAT III-C runway, which can land in zero visibility.He also accused the ministry and the DGCA of not ensuring passenger rights that were put in place in 2010 in case of flight delays.“For years, airlines have violated rules – passengers with tickets denied boarding, compensation not provided after delays, etc. DGCA ‘hauls them up’ for publicity, but either takes no action or imposes fines of token amounts,” he wrote.He said that all this has resulted in chaos at airports which is “just one of the results of the Modi government’s chronic mismanagement” and thanked the Congress’s war room for doing the research behind his tweets.The next day, January 17, Scindia in a series of tweets hit back at Tharoor and accused him of being “lost in his esoteric world of thesaurus” and qualifying of data mining of “selective press articles from the internet as research”.Calling him an “armchair critic”, Scindia said that runway maintenance was taken on top priority to be completed by December 15 before the onset of the fog season but due to rising pollution levels and and enforcement of GRAP-IV in Delhi, “the recarpeting got delayed, resulting in a delay of one month in its commissioning” and the runway will be operational this week.1/6 It is for someone who is lost in his esoteric world of thesaurus that data mining of selective press articles from the internet qualifies as “research”.Here are some actual facts for arm-chair critic @ShashiTharoor and the Cong IT Cell that might help tackle their lack of… https://t.co/hA3sijtjr8— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) January 17, 2024He also said that while airlines like Kingfisher, Jet Airways and Air India shut shop during UPA, under the NDA government five new regional airlines have started operations under the UDAN scheme including Akasa airlines.“Fleet size has increased from 400 in 2014 to 730 today, and will reach 1,500 – 2,000 by 2030. Airports have doubled from 74 in the last 65 years to 149 today. This will reach 220 in the next 3-4 years,” he wrote.6/6 This is just baseless rhetoric.– Airlines that shut shop/were brought to failure during the UPA rule = Kingfisher, Jet Airways, Air India.Under the NDA govt, along with Akasa, 5 new regional airlines have taken birth under the PM’s UDAN vision.– Fleet size has…— Jyotiraditya M. Scindia (@JM_Scindia) January 17, 2024On Thursday, Tharoor responded to Scindia’s tweets and said that he does not “need an esoteric thesaurus” to respond to the minister’s “selective rebuttal” and asked him to apologise to the passengers who have suffered incessant delays.“Mantri-ji, ahankaar chhodo, Janata se maafi maango!” he wrote.He also questioned why the runway maintenance work was not started earlier than September 2023 when fog and pollution incidents in Delhi have become an annual feature.2/6 Runway maintenance work is indeed critical for safety. However, maintenance for the one other CAT-III B runway at Delhi Airport only began in September 2023! Why wasn’t maintenance started earlier, so it could be completed before the beginning of winter? The winter fog and… https://t.co/gnFY2LOXHp— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 18, 2024He said while the crane’s impact has been noted by the ministry but no action was taken till January 17 despite it being flagged on January 5.Calling the DGCA’s showcause notices “ineffective”, Tharoor pointed to a DGCA statement on December 29 and said that “the reality is of acute pilot shortage, frequent flight diversions, and continuing agony for Indian travellers.”4/6 Whatever ineffective show-cause notices the DCGA may be issuing, the reality is of acute pilot shortage, frequent flight diversions, and continuing agony for Indian travellers. On December 29, 2023, 50 flights were diverted in the span of just 3 days because of a shortage of… https://t.co/k02xZERdlF— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 18, 2024He also countered Scindia’s claim doubling the number of airports as one of the minister’s “most-repeated concoctions.”5/6 This is complete misdirection and obfuscation. In 2014, India had 6-7 major airlines, none of which had even 1/3rd market share. Today, there are just two companies with over 90% of the market.Further, under the BJP government, thousands of crores have been wasted on the… https://t.co/iyNEn9FRQh— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 18, 2024“In 2014, the Airports Authority of India annual report shows that there were already 125 airports in India. In 10 years, you have been able to add just 20 airports. In comparison, from 2004 to 2014, the UPA added 35 operational airports,” he wrote.6/6 My dear @JM_Scindia, it’s a pity that since switching sides you have adopted the Modi Government’s uncaring attitude to the public. As @RahulGandhi said during the #BharatJodoNyayYatra, it’s clear the suffering of the people is not the suffering of this Government. Crores… https://t.co/AoJsUDEG1H pic.twitter.com/2702g5lEGx— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 18, 2024He said that the minister “would be better served by shifting his focus from my arm-chair and my diligent researchers to the agony of the passengers.”