TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee won’t leave any opportunity to allege that the central govt is trying to harm her physically. After numerous allegations earlier, this time the West Bengal government has sought a report from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation because her flight from Varanasi to Kolkata had faced encountered air turbulence, a scary but regular and familiar experience for most air travellers.
The West Bengal chief minster was travelling in a Dassault Falcon 2000 business jet which has been leased by the state govt.
According to reports, the Mamata Banerjee govt has written to the DGCA seeking a report on the incident of turbulence that the aircraft carrying her from Varanasi to Kolkata had faced mid-air. Along with the report, the govt also wants to whether the route taken by the aircraft was granted prior permission by the civil aviation regulator.
Reportedly, Mamata Banerjee had suffered a back injury after her flight had encountered a spot of air turbulence. The incident had shaken the aircraft violently before the pilot had steered it away from the rough zone. The incident had happened yesterday when Mamata Banerjee was returning from Varanasi after campaigning for Samajwadi Party in the Uttar Pradesh assembly elections.
TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh had said that the CM was already recuperating from a back pain, and the turbulence flared it up again. According to reports, a senior airport official said that the pilot had reported to the air traffic control about turbulence at a certain level, and had sought permission to descend at a different level to avoid it. After the permission was granted, the pilot descended from that level and landed the flight safely.
Weather officials said there was no forecast about any turbulence and the air pocket that the flight had encountered was sudden and extremely localised. “There was no turbulence forecast but such localised turbulences occur from time to time. Had it been a larger craft, the passengers would have faced less, or no turbulence on most occasions,” an official said.
Reacting about the reports of WB govt seeking a report on the same, DGCA said that they are already working on the report as per routine procedure. “We conduct investigations in all such cases and accord priorities where VVIPs are involved. We have already started working on preparing our report in this connection,” a DGCA official told media.
Even though aeroplanes regularly hit air pockets, TMC leaders are seeing conspiracy behind the incident. TMC national spokesperson and Rajya Sabha MP Sukhendu Sekhar Roy has said that it was a serious matter and posed a threat to the chief minister. “There should be a high-level probe by the DGCA covering all aspects from the aviation point of view. There should also be another probe by the Centre from the security aspect as the chief minister is entitled to Z category security,” he said.
This is not the first time TMC seeing conspiracy in regular incidents. When an Indigo flight in which she was travelling had hovered over Kolkata airport for some time due to heavy traffic, TMC had claimed that it was a plot to kill her. Then, when some Indian Army personnel were deployed in her state under a routine exercise, Mamata Banerjee had claimed that it was a coup attempt.
