How GD Bakshi finally brought both Left and Right on the same platform
This Twitter drama was absolutely unnecessary.
Soon after Jet Airways shut its shop, #boycottVistara started trending on Twitter, much to the chagrin of the aviation industry of the country.
But this was a one-of-a-kind incident as both Left liberals and Right Wing supporters were on the same platform — wanting to boycott the airline.
So, here’s a long story snipped short: The airline tweeted a photo of retired Major General GD Bakshi, along with two Vistara crew members standing behind him. The airline expressed its honour to have him on board. This irked many on Twitter — they didn’t want Vistara to feel honoured in GD Bakshi’s presence. So, they decided to boycott the airline.
Stumped and caught off-guard, Vistara probably didn’t understand what to do. On the spur of the moment, the airline deleted the tweet.
Now, this — feeling honoured and then harshly deleting that honour — did not go down well with GD Bakshi-sympathisers. They too want to boycott Vistara.
Statement from Vistara pic.twitter.com/KJ935w2sfQ
— Vistara (@airvistara) April 21, 2019
This is the end of the story.
GD Bakshi-haters: 1
GD Bakshi-sympathisers: 0
Major General Gagan Deep Bakshi, despite his illustrious military and academic career, has become fodder for online trolling/fun.
Because of his in-depth defence knowledge, he is a regular face on national television, where he successfully heightens the temperature as there’s little moderation — both in his ideas and volume. So, he abuses freely, calls Pakistan ‘a rabid dog’, unapologetically thinks that Pakistan should be “split into 4”. His hatred for Pakistan could certainly be rooted in his brother Captain Srishti Raman Bakshi’s death during the India-Pakistan War of 1965. But what social media gets to watch and hear is his dramatic thundering, revealing his unbridled angst against Pakistan.
So, everything he says about Muslims, Mughals, Pakistan, Indian Army et al goes viral.
But his military career can’t be questioned.
He was at the China front during 1972, in Punjab in 1985, in Kargil in 1987, in J&K in 2000.
So, when Vistara found him on board, it clearly didn’t know how to appropriately react.
It felt honoured. Ok.
But the staunch critics of GD Bakshi are no moderates either. So finally, the airline gave in to the bullying, moaning, groaning anti-GD Bakshi camp and deleted the tweet.
This Twitter drama was absolutely unnecessary. Also, this muscle-flexing over corporates leads us nowhere.
In this Left versus Right power struggle on Twitter, everyone is actually wrong, including Vistara.
Our airlines, too, should stop fawning over celebrities. Every passenger pays for their airfare.
Just stop going overboard when you see someone on board whom you have seen on television.
That includes GD Bakshi who, after all, is entitled to a quiet flight and a quiet landing.