PM’s fighter sortie a reckless act

Prime Minister Narendra Modi flew on a twin-seater trainer version of the Tejas fighter on Saturday and tweeted later that the 30-minute sortie had been an “enriching experience.”

It was heartening that the PM’s confidence in the country’s indigenous capabilities was “significantly bolstered” by a fighter that was developed under previous governments since the project was started under Indira Gandhi in 1983.

It was also heartening to note that the Prime Minister, 73 and carrying the weight of the nation’s governance and his strenuous election campaigns, showed himself fit to fly in a fighter aircraft with its high-g forces, though we do not know how much of it he got to experience.

Many Opposition leaders as well as ordinary people have commented adversely on the Prime Minister’s sortie, saying it was yet another publicity stunt in the middle of elections in five states, and that he did not make time to attend the funeral of slain Indian Army Captain M V Pranjal. But the Prime Minister’s adventure raises more important concerns.

Modi is not the oldest Indian politician to have flown in a supersonic fighter aircraft. Former Presidents Abdul Kalam and Pratibha Patil, for instance, were 74 and 75, respectively, when they flew sorties in the more powerful Sukhoi-30 MKI fighters in 2006 and 2009.

Elsewhere, former US President George H W Bush celebrated every fifth birthday since his 75th with a skydive, the last one at age 90! But the President of India, despite being the Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, or a retired US President, are not executive decision-makers.

They can go on such adventures without catastrophic consequence to the government and the nation if something untoward were to happen. The sitting Prime Minister of India is, however, the highest executive authority and key to decision-making at the highest levels.

It is particularly so in the highly centralised Modi government. It was reckless of PM Modi to go on a fighter sortie as if it were a personal matter. Are there not safety and security protocols that should have prevented him from doing so? Did not the officer in charge of the PM’s security object? Did the PM override such objections? 

Any untoward incident or effects on the Prime Minister’s health would have put the government and nation in a short-term crisis. Did the PM notify his cabinet colleagues ahead of his sortie?

Is there a standing contingency plan for who would take over in case the PM cannot execute his functions, or was one put in place ahead of the PM’s sortie?

India is a nuclear weapons power, surrounded by nuclear adversaries, and the PM is at the top of the nuclear command chain. Was the nuclear command chain notified of the PM’s adventure?

Rash and highly personalised decision-making without regard to potential consequences have been a hallmark of the Modi government. That should not be the case.

Modi’s little adventure is a wake-up call for those in charge of the PM’s safety and security and the nation’s contingency plans for decision-making at the highest levels.