Should I count how many mosquitoes I killed: V K Singh on Balakot casualty debate
New Delhi: Union minister V K Singh on Wednesday used a mosquito metaphor to address the debate on casualty figures in the Balakot air strikes, asking if he was expected to sit and count how many he killed at night or "sleep in comfort".
The tweet from the minister of state for external affairs came a day after he slammed the Congress for demanding the data and said it was not a "game of marbles" where an exact score can be kept.
"There were a lot of mosquitoes at 3:30 am at night. So, I used Hit (mosquito repellent) on them. Now, should I sit and count how many mosquitoes I killed or sleep in comfort," Singh tweeted on Wednesday in an apparent reference to Congress demands from the government on proof of casualty figures in the air-strikes.
On Tuesday, Haryana minister Anil Vij had tweeted a similar comment. "The next time there is a strike on Pakistan-based terrorists, then one of mahagathbandhan leaders should be made to stand there so that they can count the bodies," he said.
The opposition has been asking the government to reveal the official death count in the strike which was conducted days after the February 14 Pulwama attack in which 40 CRPF personnel died.
While IAF chief B S Dhanoa said in a press conference that the force does not count bodies, BJP president Amit Shah claimed at a political rally that over 250 terrorists were killed.
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Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London faces tech issue; returns to Delhi
New Delhi (PTI): Air India's A350 aircraft enroute to London Heathrow returned to the national capital due to a technical issue on Thursday afternoon after being airborne for nearly seven hours.
The same A350-900 aircraft VT-JRF had faced a technical issue on March 15, following which the plane operating the flight from New York to Delhi was diverted to the Irish town of Shannon, sources said.
An Air India spokesperson said its flight AI111, operating from Delhi to London on Thursday, made a precautionary air-return to the national capital following a suspected technical issue.
"The aircraft landed safely and consistent with Air India's high safety standards, it is currently subject to extensive technical evaluations, which will require additional time to complete," the spokesperson said in a statement.
According to the sources, noises were heard in the aircraft following which it was diverted.
The spokesperson also regretted the inconvenience caused to the passengers due to the unforeseen situation and said the airline was making every effort to ensure passengers are able to continue their journey to London at the earliest.
Details about the number of passengers onboard could not be ascertained.
The aircraft operating the flight AI111 was airborne for around four hours before the decision was taken to divert the plane when it was in the Saudi Arabia airspace. In total, the plane was airborne for nearly seven hours before landing back in the national capital, as per information available on flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
The flight had taken off from Delhi around 6 am on Thursday and landed back at about 12.30 pm.
Air India started operating A350-900 planes from January 2024.
