PMO seeks report on allegations of Rijiju and Fadnavis delaying AI flight

NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the civil aviation ministry to submit a report at the earliest on the incidents involving offloading of a family to accommodate Union minister Kiren Rijiju and Jammu and Kashmir deputy chief minister Nirmal Singh in an Air India plane, as well as the delay of an international flight due to Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis.

Though the government order was issued in the name of the PMO, a source said Modi had personally asked civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapati Raju to look into the issue and get a factual report. Rijiju and Raju apologised to passengers while Fadnavis maintained on his twitter handle that there was no delay due to him or his official in the international Air India flight that he took to Newark, US on June 29.

“What happened was wrong. I must apologise to the off-loaded passengers. They deserve to be treated properly,” Rijiju said on Thursday. Raju also assured that corrective actions will be taken to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future. “We apologise to passengers and corrective action will be taken so that it is not repeated in the future,” Raju told newspersons.
Raju added that the ministry will inquire into the matter and a final report on it will be sent to the PMO. “We will also bring in mechanism to ensure that such incidents do not happen in the future,” Raju said.

Fadnavis, however, threatened to file a criminal defamation case against those alleging that he had caused the flight delay. “I reiterate,the reports of me delaying flight are misleading.

In fact when I’d already boarded how can I say I won’t travel without delegation? If at all any report that has been submitted, states that I refused to travel without my delegation then it is a blatant lie because... passengers sitting besides & behind me are witness that I was sitting quietly waiting for the departure.

Not even once I asked to offload me... Once I’m back to India I will initiate proceedings of criminal defamation,” he said in tweets. The ministry has asked Air India to file a report on the recent incidents of VVIPs delaying its flight.

“We are awaiting reports on the (two) incidents from Air India,” Civil Aviation Secretary RN Choubey said. Air India flight to Newark from Mumbai was delayed by nearly an hour after it was reported that Fadnavis’ principal secretary Pravin Pardeshi was cleared at the check-in but was held back before boarding as the passport he was carrying did not have a valid visa. He had carried Fadnavis’ new passport, whereas the visa was stamped on the CM’s old passport.