AI Express flight cancellations: Cong, CPI seek Aviation Ministry intervention
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): In the wake of scores of Air India Express international flights being cancelled at the last minute and irate passengers protesting at airports across Kerala, both the Congress and the CPI on Wednesday demanded urgent intervention by the Centre to solve the problem.
Leader of Opposition in the state assembly V D Satheesan wrote to Union Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia highlighting the plight of the passengers and seeking his urgent intervention to ensure alternative travel arrangements for those affected.
Satheesan, in his letter, said that the majority of the travellers learned about the cancellations only after they arrived at the airports.
ALSO READ :Kerala airports see passengers protest against AI Express' last minute cancellations
"Many people heading to the Middle East face the risk of losing their employment since they will be unable to return on time," he said.
Citing reports, he said the airline did not even extend the basic courtesy of providing the stranded passengers with food or accommodation.
"In these urgent circumstances, I request your good self to provide alternative arrangements to resolve the bottleneck due to the unreasonable cancellation of multiple international and domestic services of Air India Express from Kerala," Satheesan said.
CPI state secretary Binoy Viswam too sought urgent intervention of the ministry to solve the travel problems of passengers.
In a statement, he said thousands of passengers were stranded at various airports across the country after more than 70 services of the Air India Express were cancelled.
"It has also affected the employment prospects of those seeking a job abroad and those who have to rejoin work after holidays," Viswam said.
He said that according to the airline, the present predicament was due to the mass leave taken by the cabin crew of Air India Express.
Viswam said the airline's employees were forced to take such a step as the management did not try to address their concerns and problems.
"This shows that the privatisation of Air India, which was a public sector entity, has not only affected the employees but also the passengers," he added.
Passengers, mostly travelling to the Gulf nations, claimed that they were informed about the flight cancellations after they completed their security check and were waiting to board the flight.
Many of them, who protested at the airports, claimed that they could lose their jobs if they did not reach their place of work today, while some others' work visas are about to expire.
Air India Express has offered a full refund or complimentary rescheduling to another date, but affected travellers are not happy with it.
Air India Express has cancelled "scores of flights" due to a shortage of cabin crew members as a section of them are reporting sick to protest against alleged mismanagement at the Tata Group-owned airline, according to sources.
Discontent has been brewing among a section of the cabin crew at the low-cost carrier for some time now, especially after the start of the process of merger of AIX Connect, formerly AirAsia India, with itself.
The sources today said several cabin crew members started reporting sick since Monday evening and as there are not enough cabin crew members, "scores of flights" have been cancelled at various airports, including Kochi, Calicut and Kannur.
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BJP worker’s 16-year-old son allegedly casts eight votes in Uttar Pradesh’s Farrukhabad; Video viral
Lucknow (Farrukhabad): A viral video has surfaced showing a 16-year-old son of a BJP worker allegedly casting eight votes to the saffron party during the ongoing general elections in Uttar Pradesh. The video has sparked controversy, and the opposition has urged for prompt action from the Election Commission of India, reports scroll.in.
The video shared by the Samajwadi Party President Akhilesh Yadav on micro-blogging site ‘X’, showed the youngster recording himself while casting multiple times in a series of instances. The incident reportedly took place in Khiri Pamaran village, which falls under the Aliganj Assembly constituency within the Farrukhabad parliamentary seat. Mukesh Rajput, the sitting MP, is the BJP candidate in this constituency. Polling in Farrukhabad occurred on May 13 during the fourth phase of the general election.
In the viral video, the youngster is seen casting eight votes in total, all for the BJP, one by one with different clippings.
The youngster in the video has been identified as Rajan Singh Thakur, confirmed his father, Anil Singh Thakur to the Scroll.in. Anil Singh Thakur is the gram pradhan (village head) of Khiri Pamaran and a member of the BJP.
Anil defending his son told the Scroll that the ‘Video misrepresented his son,’ and claimed that the voting was done when the machine was being tested in some instances and other clipping of him voting on behalf of mentally and physically disabled voters was merged and made into a video.
Despite the Anil's caims, the video has drawn significant criticism. Subhash Chandra Prajapati, the additional district magistrate of Farrukhabad, confirmed to the Scroll that the administration will file a case soon. He mentioned that the returning officer is investigating the matter following a directive from the chief electoral officer in Lucknow.
The opposition has been vocal in its criticism, with Akhilesh Yadav demanding action from the Election Commission. In his social media post, Yadav accused the BJP of undermining the electoral process and described the party's booth committee as a "loot committee." The Congress party also called on the Election Commission to take action, in a ‘X’ post the party wrote, “Dear Election Commission…are you watching..a boy is voting 8-8 times ... .at least wake up now.”
Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, took to ‘X’ to express, “Fearing and seeing their defeat, the BJP is attempting to undermine democracy by pressuring government machinery to deny the mandate. The Congress expects all officers performing election duties to remember their constitutional responsibilities despite any pressure from those in power. Otherwise, once the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) bloc government is formed, actions will be taken to ensure that anyone will think ten times before violating their 'Oath to the Constitution'."
Following the video's circulation, Naval Kishor Shakya, the Samajwadi Party candidate in Farrukhabad, filed a complaint with the district election officer. Shakya's complaint alleges that Rajan Singh Thakur cast votes after snatching voter information slips from other voters and that he was assisted by Dinesh Thakur, the local police station's station house officer. Shakya has called for re-polling at the affected polling center.
In a related incident earlier in May, Gujarat Police arrested two BJP workers for allegedly casting bogus votes and live-streaming the act on social media in the Dahod constituency. The Election Commission conducted re-polling at the affected booth following the incident.
The opposition INDIA bloc, including the Congress and the Samajwadi Party, has repeatedly accused the Election Commission of failing to take prompt action against election model code of conduct violations.
अपनी हार सामने देख कर भाजपा जनादेश को झुठलाने के लिए सरकारी तंत्र पर दबाव बना कर लोकतंत्र को लूटना चाहती है।
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 19, 2024
कांग्रेस चुनावी ड्यूटी कर रहे सभी अधिकारियों से यह अपेक्षा करती है कि वो सत्ता के दबाव के सामने अपनी संवैधानिक ज़िम्मेदारी न भूलें।
वरना INDIA की सरकार बनते ही ऐसी… https://t.co/fk4wXL8QZy
