Low-cost airline GoAir on Saturday sacked a senior pilot who made derogatory remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Twitter. The pilot, Miki Malik, had on Thursday called PM Modi an "idiot". Reportedly, he is an Indian Air Force veteran who served in the IAF for 25 years.
"PM is an idiot. You can call me same in return. It’s ok. I don’t matter. Bcoz I am not PM. But PM is an idiot. Period," he had tweeted.
Later on Thursday, Malik had issued an apology. "I apologise for my tweets about PM, other offensive tweets which may have hurt sentiments of anyone associated. I convey that GoAir is not associated with any of my tweets directly or indirectly as they were personal views,” he tweeted.
Meanwhile, GoAir has terminated the services of Malik with immediate effect. "GoAir has zero-tolerance policy and it is mandatory for all GoAir employees to comply with the company’s employment rules, regulations and policies, including social media behaviour. The airline does not associate itself with personal views expressed by any individual or an employee. GoAir has terminated the services of the captain with immediate effect," said a GoAir spokesperson.
Meanwhile, Twitterati lashed out at the airline for sacking the employee.
"Ludicrous. Threats, hate speech against minorities and farmers, death threats & gang rape threats against women are cheered , but exercise of free speech against a powerful politician leads to sacking. And we have the nerve to gloat about America’s democracy deficit #GoAir," a Twitter user said.
"An IAF veteran employed by GoAir referred to the PM as an idiot in a Twitter argument. It is no crime having an opinion. The PM’s decisions can be questioned and considered idiotic. He later did apologise, though, for his choice of words. GoAir has sacked him. GoAir is an idiot," said another Twitter user.
Here are a few Twitter reactions:
