Congress alleged an attempt to detain Pawan Khera at the Delhi airport and protested on the tarmac.
New Delhi:
Congress leader Pawan Khera was arrested at the Delhi airport today after he was deplaned from a flight to Chhattisgarh capital Raipur. Nearly 50 Congress leaders launched a rare protest on the tarmac, refusing to let the flight leave.
Pawan Khera, a senior Congress spokesperson, was forced to exit the IndiGo flight. He was flying with a large group of Congress leaders to Raipur for a meeting of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).
Pawan Khera was arrested by the Assam Police, who arrived at the airport with an FIR or First Information Report.
Scores of Congress leaders got off the plane and protested on the Delhi airport tarmac, shouting slogans and staging a sit-in right next to the aircraft.
IndiGo Airline said: “A passenger was deplaned by the police at the Delhi airport from Raipur-bound flight 6E 204. Some other passengers have also decided to deboard on their own accord. We are following the advice of the concerned authorities. The flight is delayed as of now and we regret the inconvenience caused to other passengers.”
Mr Khera said he was first told that there was trouble with his baggage. “I was told that there is an issue with my baggage, though I only had hand baggage. They told me you can’t fly. Then they said the DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) will meet you. I have been waiting for a long time. There is no sign of law and order,” he said.
“This is nothing but a rattled government and its high-handedness,” Congress’s Supriya Srinate told NDTV.
The BJP has demanded Mr Khera’s arrest over allegations that he insulted Prime Minister Narendra Modi. An FIR was filed after a BJP leader filed a police complaint.
“Modi government is acting like a bunch of goons by deplaning Pawan Khera from the Delhi-Raipur flight and preventing him from joining the AICC Plenary. Using a flimsy FIR to restrict his movement and silence him is a shameful, unacceptable act. The entire party stands with Pawan ji,” tweeted KC Venugopal, a senior Congress leader.
Modi govt is acting like a bunch of goons by deplaning @Pawankhera ji from the Delhi-Raipur flight and preventing him from joining the AICC Plenary.
Using a flimsy FIR to restrict his movement & silence him is a shameful, unacceptable act. The entire party stands with Pawan ji. pic.twitter.com/mKVeuRGnfR
– K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) February 23, 2023
At a recent press conference, Mr Khera flubbed PM Modi’s name while demanding a joint parliamentary probe into the Adani-Hindenburg row. “If Narasimha Rao could form a JPC (Joint Parliamentary Committee), if Atal Bihari Vajpayee could form a JPC, then what problem does Narendra Gautam Das…sorry Damodardas…Modi have?” he said, appearing to confirm the middle name with a colleague.
The BJP insists that Mr Khera’s fumble was deliberate.
Make no mistake- pathetic remarks by courtier Pawan Khera on PM’s father have blessings of the top levels of Congress, which is full of entitlement and disdain against a person of humble origins being PM. India will not forget or forgive these horrible remarks of Congressmen.
– Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 20, 2023
“Make no mistake- pathetic remarks by courtier Pawan Khera on PM’s father have blessings of the top levels of Congress, which is full of entitlement and disdain against a person of humble origins being PM. India will not forget or forgive these horrible remarks of Congressmen,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had said.