Mahua Moitra moves DGCA over ‘chor chor’ and ‘jai shri Ram’ slogans, alleges harassment on IndiGo flight
The Statesman | 9 May 2026
Trinamool Congress (TMC) Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra has filed a formal complaint with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) after what she described as a disturbing experience during her air travel to Delhi.
The incident reportedly took place on IndiGo flight 6E 719, where she says she was subjected to political sloganeering and recording by a group of passengers. Moitra was travelling to attend a parliamentary standing committee meeting on defence when the episode occurred.
According to Moitra, the situation unfolded after the aircraft had landed but before the cabin doors opened. She alleged that a group of men began shouting political slogans inside the aircraft.
The slogans included “Chor chor, TMC chor, pishi chor, bhaipo chor,” directed at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and her nephew Abhishek Banerjee.
She also mentioned that “Jai Shri Ram” chants were raised during the episode. The MP claimed that the passengers not only shouted slogans but also recorded videos on their mobile phones while the incident was ongoing inside the closed cabin.
Moitra later shared her version of events on the social media platform X, stating that what happened was not normal public anger but a form of targeted harassment during air travel.
Calling the experience deeply uncomfortable, Moitra said she felt unsafe during the incident. She stated that such behaviour inside an aircraft cannot be just ‘general political expression’.
“This is no ‘citizen anger’. This is harassment and violates my safety in an aircraft. No way that these louts can get away with this harassment inside an airplane,” she wrote in her post.
In another post, she added a political remark, saying, “This is BJP culture. Why is anyone surprised?”
Despite the incident, Moitra said she initially chose not to escalate the matter immediately and attended her scheduled parliamentary meeting in Delhi. However, after videos of the episode surfaced online, she decided to formally raise the issue with authorities.
In her written complaint to the DGCA, the Krishnanagar MP described the group as “miscreants” and accused them of engaging in repeated political sloganeering aimed at humiliating her. She said the behaviour was not random but appeared coordinated and intentional.
She alleged that the passengers used politically charged slogans designed to target her affiliation and included personal insults and abusive remarks.
According to her complaint, the group also recorded her without consent and encouraged others onboard to participate in the shouting.
Moitra further claimed that the behaviour suggested planning, especially given the attempt to capture the incident on mobile phones for later circulation on social media platforms. She described it as an attempt to “stigmatise” her in front of fellow passengers.
The TMC leader also raised concerns about the role of the airline staff during the incident. She alleged that the cabin crew did not intervene or take any action to stop the situation while it unfolded inside the aircraft.
Calling the staff “passive bystanders,” she said their inaction failed to ensure passenger safety and discipline onboard. In her complaint, she requested the DGCA to direct IndiGo to file a report regarding the conduct of the pilot-in-command within 48 hours.
She also urged the regulator to initiate internal proceedings within the mandatory 30-day period. Additionally, she sought a show-cause notice against IndiGo and all cabin crew members present on the flight, asking them to explain why they did not act as required under aviation safety rules.
As of now, IndiGo has not released any official statement in response to these allegations.