Cong claims Rahul Gandhi’s plane wasn't allowed to land at Varanasi airport; authorities deny charge
New Delhi, February 14: Congress on Tuesday claimed that Rahul Gandhi's plane was denied permission to land at the Varanasi Airport. However, the authorities at the Uttar Pradesh airport have refuted the charge.
According to the Varanasi Airport, the company operating the charted flight of Rahul Gandhi cancelled the landing itself. The company had written to them last night informing the air traffic controller about the cancellation of the Congress leader's plan to land at the airport, the authorities claimed.
"The flight was cancelled by M/S AR Airways by sending an email to AAI Varanasi Airport at 2116 hrs on 13th Feb. Please correct your statement as the flight was cancelled by the operator", Varanasi Airport said on Twitter.
Earlier in the day, the Congress claimed that Rahul Gandhi's plane was denied permission to land late Monday night at Varanasi's Lal Bahadur Shastri Airport.
Congress leader Ajay Rai claimed that the airport authorities were under pressure and used President Droupadi Murmu's visit to Lucknow and Varanasi as an "excuse" for not granting permission.
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Rai claimed that Rahul Gandhi's flight was scheduled to land at Varanasi airport on Monday night but that permission was "deliberately" denied.
"Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to arrive here (Lucknow) and then go to Prayagraj, but the airport authority did not allow his plane to land due to pressure from the government. They said there is heavy aircraft movement and traffic congestion and did not give permission," Rai claimed.
The Congress leader also claimed that the BJP government was "scared" of Rahul Gandhi and thus refused to allow the plane to land at Varanasi Airport.
"Prime Minister of the country has been anxious since Rahul Gandhi led the Bharat Jodo Yatra. Now, they are troubling Rahul," he said.
Rahul Gandhi was scheduled to arrive in Varanasi on Monday night to offer prayers at the Kashi Vishwanath Temple today.
Notably, President Murmu paid a visit to the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple on Monday evening after praying at the Kotwal Baba Kaal Bhairav temple in Varanasi.
During her first visit to Kashi, the President also attended the grand Ganga Aarti at the Dashashwamedh Ghat in the evening, according to a statement from the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister's Office.
- ANI
