Father-daughter duo creates history by flying Hawk sortie together in Karnataka
Bidar, Jul 5: A father-daughter duo has created history in the Indian Air Force (IAF), when they flew in the same formation here recently, IAF said on Tuesday.
There has not been any previous instance in the IAF where a father and his daughter were part of the same formation for a mission, an official release said.
Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma and his daughter Ananya flew in the same formation recently.
"The father-daughter duo created history on 30 May 2022, when they flew in the same formation of Hawk-132 aircraft at Air Force Station Bidar, where Flying Officer Ananya Sharma is undergoing her training before she graduates onto faster and more superior fighter aircraft of the IAF," the release said.
"There has not been any previous instance in the IAF where a father and his daughter were part of the same fighter formation for a mission," it added.
It was the mission where the two were more than just father and daughter. "They were comrades, who had full faith in each other as fellow wingmen would," the release stated.
Air Commodore Sanjay Sharma was commissioned in the fighter stream of the IAF in 1989. He has had extensive experience of fighter operations, having commanded a Mig-21 squadron as well as a frontline fighter station.
Having completed her B Tech in Electronics and Communication, Ananya was selected for training for the flying branch of IAF. She was commissioned as a fighter pilot in December 2021, the release said.
There has not been any previous instance in @IAF_MCC where #fatherdaughter hv been part of same #Fighter formation in a #mission
— PRO Defence Gujarat (@DefencePRO_Guj) July 5, 2022
Air Cmde Sanjay & Fg Offr Ananya were more than just father & daughter....they were comrades who had full faith in each other as fellow wingmen would pic.twitter.com/kUUzIZzbxO
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CPIM's M A Baby frontrunner for general secretary post, Bengal leaders back AIKS' Dhawale
Madurai (PTI): Former Kerala minister M A Baby appeared to be the frontrunner for the post of CPI(M) general secretary with the Politburo backing him, even as leaders from West Bengal backed All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) president Ashok Dhawale.
According to sources, many leaders backed Baby at a meeting of the Politburo, the highest decision-making body of the CPI(M), on Saturday night.
However, leaders from West Bengal, including Nilotpal Basu, Tapan Sen, Ram Chandra Dome and Md Salim, put their weight behind Dhawale, the sources said.
Dhawale initially proposed Salim's name but Salim said he wanted to continue as the secretary for West Bengal, where the CPI(M) is working to regain foothold. The leaders from the state then proposed Dhawale's name.
The final decision on the general secretary will be taken after the new Central Committee and Politburo are decided on Sunday.
Many of Baby's supporters gathered at the venue of the ongoing party congress, held once every three years, in Sitaram Yechury Nagar here and raised slogans backing him.
Several top leaders of the Politburo are likely to step down as they have crossed the age of 75.
According to the sources, members said during the Politburo meeting that Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan should get another extension.
Vijayan, 79, was given an extension in the last party congress as well.
Brinda Karat (77), Subhashini Ali (77), Prakash Karat (77), Manik Sarkar (76), Suryakant Mishra (76) and G Ramakrishnan (75) are among the Politburo members who have crossed or reached the age limit of 75 set by the party.
The 24th party congress of the CPI(M) began on April 2 and will end on Sunday.
