BJP’s Rajeev Chandrasekhar criticises Kumbh coverage by Asianet News, in which he has stake: Report
Thiruvananthapuram: Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former minister of state for the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, expressed dissatisfaction with remarks made about the Maha Kumbh in a recent programme aired by Asianet News, a Malayalam TV channel he owns.
During the March 1 episode of Cover Story, a weekly programme on Asianet News, the channel appeared to take a dig at people from Kerala who attended the Kumbh and participated in the dip at the Triveni Sangam, as reported by The Indian Express on Wednesday.
"Hundreds of people from Kerala took part in the Ganga snan. Hindu sentiments, interest in rituals, and the Kumbh mela snan, which were not prevalent until now, have emerged in a state where CPI(M) is ruling. Even when Kerala is claiming to be 100 percent literate, Kumbh mela snan and propitiating BJP are favourite matters for a lot of Keralites," it said.
The programme also showed visuals of Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking a dip in the Ganga, commenting: "Good advertisement, good business and good PR. When all came together, the Kumbh mela turned into a favourite here in Kerala too."
In response, Chandrasekhar took to Facebook, sharing that several Malayalees had reached out to him, expressing that they were hurt by the programme's content. "They felt the programme was ridiculing the Kumbh Mela. My family was among crores of devotees who participated in the Maha Kumbh mela. I have brought this to the attention of those at the helm of Asianet News. I have asked them that there should not be such careless, sarcastic remarks about such an event, which is attended by lakhs of devotees," he wrote.
Chandrasekhar also stressed that faith is essential to all Hindus, including those in Kerala, and called for respect for religious sentiments. "As in any religion, faith is important for every Hindu. We, crores of Hindus across the country, including Kerala, want that to be respected," he stated.
The BJP's relationship with Asianet News has been tense in the past. In 2015, the state unit of the BJP announced a boycott of the channel, accusing it of being dominated by "journalists with Left background".
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Dense fog disrupts operations at Delhi airport; 228 flights cancelled, 5 diverted
New Delhi (PTI): Dense fog disrupted flight operations at Delhi Airport on Monday, with various airlines cancelling 228 flights and diverting five to nearby airports due to low visibility, an official said.
However, except for Air India, which had in an X post in the morning announced the cancellation of some 40 flights, no other airlines, including crisis-hit IndiGo, shared the numbers of their cancelled or delayed flights.
"As many as 228 flights -- 131 departures and 97 arrivals-- have been cancelled due to low visibility, so far," the airport official said.
In addition to this, five flights have been diverted so far, he said.
Earlier, the Delhi International Airport Ltd (DIAL), in a statement, said, "Our on-ground officials are working closely with all stakeholders to assist passengers and provide necessary support across Terminals.
"Low visibility (below minima), due to dense fog, has severely impacted operations at Delhi and other airports across northern India, which is unfortunately beyond our control," IndiGo said in a statement.
As operations are adjusted to prevailing weather conditions, some flights may experience delays, while a few others may be proactively cancelled during the day to prioritise safety and minimise extended waiting at the airport, the airline said in a statement.
IndiGo, however, did not say how many of its flights were cancelled or delayed.
The airline said its teams are "closely monitoring" the situation and coordinating with Delhi airport.
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IndiGo also said it issued advisories to its customers and "proactively" informing them, to minimise inconvenience.
“Poor visibility due to dense fog in Delhi this morning has impacted flight operations for all airlines. We are closely monitoring conditions and will resume operations as soon as it is safe to do so,” Air India said in a post on X in the morning.
It also said that some flights have been cancelled In the interest of safety, and to avoid prolonged uncertainty for the guests, while listing out some 40 arrivals and departures that it had cancelled for the day.
Delhi airport is the country's busiest, handling around 1,300 flight movements daily.
