He Is An Excellent Pilot, PM Modi Tweets 1945 Documents On Biju Patnaik’s Daredevilry

By OB Bureau On Mar 5, 2020

New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Remembering the former Chief Minister of Odisha late Biju Patnaik on his 104th birth anniversary, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday tweeted some pages from history which gives a glimpse into the statesman’s courage and excellence.

Dated August 29, 1945, the letter of the Intelligence Bureau (Home Department) talks about him misusing his position as a pilot to surreptitiously fly Ram Monohar Lohai (who was then underground) from Delhi to the erstwhile Calcutta.

“It may be argued that Patnaik may still be a danger so long as conditions on our Eastern Border do not return to normal – but that would be to state a very hypothetical risk,” it read.

Remembering Biju Babu on his Jayanti. This document from the pages of history (dated 1945) gives a glimpse of his courage (flying Dr. Lohia, who was then underground) and excellence.

Biju Babu worked tirelessly for India’s progress and pioneered the development of Odisha. pic.twitter.com/XLEjzOFEiQ

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) March 5, 2020

Since he cannot be stopped from flying on security grounds, the letter suggests that he be reemployed in the India National Airways. “If the Indian National Airways do not re-employ him, the Tatas probably will – because he is an excellent pilot,” it added.

The PM ended his tweet with these words: “Biju Babu worked tirelessly for India’s progress & pioneered development of Odisha”