Rahul Gandhi's Flight From Delhi to Hubli Develops Technical Snag, Congress Hints at Sabotage
"What happened in the flight was unnatural. Perhaps, it could be a case of intentional tampering. We are firm on seeking a probe into the incident," said Congress leader Brijesh Kalappa.
Bengaluru, April 26: Congress president Rahul Gandhi's special flight, ferrying him along with four others from Delhi to Hubli, suffered a technical snag. The party have hinted a sabotage, claiming the "shuddering and altitude dipping were not natural or weather related".
Rahul's key aide Kaushal Vidyarthee, who was travelling alongside the Congress chief on the Hubli-bound flight, wrote to Karnataka IG Neelamani Raju, demanding an inquiry into the incident.
"Serious questions related to intentional tampering with the aircraft cannot be brushed aside and are required to be addressed and investigated," Vidyarthee said in his letter to the IG.
Read the full letter written by Rahul's aide to the Karnataka IG:
Vidyarthee claims he was lucky to have survived:
The Directorate General of Civil Aviation, while issuing a statement on the plane developing a technical snag, said it would examine the incident in detail.
"It was snag of autopilot mode. The pilot shifted to manual and landed safely. Such autopilot incidents are not uncommon. For any VIP flight, the DGCA examines in detail. We shall do here also," said the statement issued by the civil aviation regulator.
BJP ridiculed the charges levelled by the Congress, calling it another "self-goal" of Rahul Gandhi. "What kind of politics is this? Will he now blame Prime Minister Narendra Modi for a technical snag," questioned BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra.
"This is the kind of politics which the Opposition could do. We all remember how Mamata Banerjee said that Modi ji wants to get her killed," Patra added.
However, the Congress said the sabotage angle could not be ruled out without conducting a probe. "What happened in the flight was unnatural. Perhaps, it could be a case of intentional tampering. We are firm on seeking a probe into the incident," said party leader Brijesh Kalappa.
Rahul, along with his four aides, arrived in Hubli earlier in the day. He addressed a road show in Hubli-Dharwad region, apart from holding talks with the booth-level leaders of the party.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 26, 2018 09:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).