NEW DELHI — India media on Wednesday abuzz with Narendra Modi's accusation that the central government led by the Congress party is trying to disturb his country-wide tour ahead of the elections. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) prime ministerial nominee said he was delayed for two of his rallies on Tuesday because his helicopter was not allowed to fly for hours. Modi was to cover four constituencies in Madhya Pradesh on Tuesday besides Bareilly in UP. He started the day by waiting at Delhi airport for almost two hours for permission to take off. The charter companies hired for Modi — an Adani Group plane and a chopper from another firm — reportedly failed to file proper flight plans, giving details such as the route the aircraft will take and the alternate airport in case of emergency. As many as four flight plans were submitted to the air traffic control at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. The BJP has asked the Election Commission (EC) to investigate the delays in the clearances given to Modi's helicopter flights from Delhi and Uttar Pradesh, which it said seemed “deliberate” to affect his campaign schedule, newspapers report. One national daily said Modi was “made to wait for hours at the Delhi airport” which “upset” the schedule of the election rallies he was to attend in Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh states. The ruling Congress party has rejected these allegations. But the media appear to be giving prominent coverage to this “war of words over choppers.” Front-page headlines are reporting the BJP's accusations against the government. “Grounded for hours, Modi cries sabotage,” says The Times of India.
The Pioneer's headline says: “Modi wants ‘umpire' EC to probe flight delay.” Officials at the civil aviation department said the delays took place because the company in-charge of Modi's travel plans had submitted its flight plan “late.” Modi was the not the only one who had helicopter trouble on Tuesday — Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi's election rally in Gumla district in the eastern state of Jharkhand was canceled due to a technical snag in his helicopter, according to the NDTV website. “There was a problem in the flight plans and so they could not be cleared. Also, one of these charter firms was flying another plane for Haryana Chief Minister B.S. Hooda and they mixed up the flight plans of the two chief ministers, which made matters worse,” said a source.
