Modi’s Aircraft Hit By Technical Snag In Jharkhand, Unable To Take Off

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s aircraft suffered a technical snag at Deoghar in Jharkhand this afternoon and he left for Delhi on another Indian Air Force Plane, sent from New Delhi, more than two hours later.

Sources said PM Modi was in the plane, which was about to take off, when the fault was detected and it was decided to stop the aircraft at Deoghar. Attempts were also being made to rectify the fault in the aircraft before the IAF plane arrived.

The Prime Minister addressed two rallies in Jharkhand today on the occasion of tribal icon Birsa Munda’s birth anniversary, which is celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas, and ahead of the second round of polling for the Assembly elections in the state on November 20.

Barely 80 km away from Deoghar, in Jharkhand’s Godda, Rahul Gandhi’s helicopter remained grounded for 45 minutes awaiting clearance from the air traffic control, prompting the Congress to claim that the delay was deliberate to disrupt the campaign schedule of the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.

The Congress had pointed to the PM’s rally near Deoghar, suggesting that his event was being prioritised over Mr Gandhi’s movements. The chopper was allowed to take off 45 minutes later.

In his rallies earlier in the day, PM Modi hit out at the Congress and Rahul Gandhi. Reiterating his“shehzada” (prince) jibe, the Prime Minister accused Mr Gandhi of conspiring to scrap reservations for people belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and other backward classes (OBC) communities to “weaken” them.