Kejriwal reposts Modi's old tweet to target him over internal feud in CBI
New Delhi, Oct 24: Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Wednesday sought to corner the prime minister over CBI's internal feud, retweeting Narendra Modi's 2013 tweet in which he had slammed the then UPA government for allegedly undermining the intelligence system of the country.
The government Wednesday sent CBI Director Alok Verma and Special Director Rakesh Asthana on leave as the two officers were involved in a spat between them.
In a series of tweets, Kejriwal questioned the Modi government's authority to send the CBI director on leave and wondered if the move was related with the Rafale deal.
Kejriwal retweeted Modi's June 5, 2013 tweet in which he had said it was "Unfortunate that in its quest to target political opponents, Centre is undermining intelligence systems with CBI questioning IB officials."
The Congress-led UPA was in power in 2013.
The prime minister-led Appointments Committee Tuesday night gave charge of the director to Joint Director M Nageswara Rao with immediate effect, a government order said.
Kejriwal sought to know from the government reasons behind Verma's removal and questioned if it was trying to "hide" anything.
"What are the reasons for sending CBI director on leave? Under which law did the Modi govt get the authority to initiate action against the chief of an investigating agency appointed as per the Lokpal Act? What is Modi govt trying to hide?" he said in one of his tweets.
In another tweet, he insinuated that the move may be "co-related" the to Rafale deal that has been questioned by the Opposition parties as a "scam".
"Is there a co-relation between (sic) Rafale deal and removal of Alok Verma? Was Alok Verma about to start investigations into Rafale, which could become problem for Modi ji? (sic)" he tweeted.
Later, addressing a gathering at an event in Tri Nagar area, Kejriwal alleged, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has suspended the CBI director at 3 am. Do you know this? Why? I tell you that the Modi government is buying one Rafale fighter jet with a cost of Rs 1,500 crore instead of its original cost of Rs 546 crore. They are doing a scam of Rs 36,000 crore in buying 36 Rafale jets.
"When the CBI director (Alok Verma), who is an honest person, started investigation in the case, he was suddenly transferred at 3 am."
He also alleged, "The CBI director was to register a case (in connection with procurement of Rafale fighter jets) next day. He was transferred...at 3 am."
Unfortunate that in its quest to target political opponents, Centre is undermining intelligence systems with CBI questioning IB officials.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 5, 2013
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Delhi-bound Air India flight carrying MPs diverted due to snag, Venugopal says it was 'harrowing'
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader and Chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee K C Venugopal has claimed that an Air India flight carrying him and several other MPs from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi "came frighteningly close to tragedy".
In a statement, the airline said that Air India flight AI2455, flying from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi, was diverted to Chennai on Sunday evening due to a technical issue.
In a post on X on Sunday night, Venugopal said, "Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi -- carrying myself, several MPs and hundreds of passengers -- came frighteningly close to tragedy today."
"What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai...
"For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt -- another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the Captain's quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt," he said.
"We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck. I urge @DGCAIndia and @MoCA_GoI to investigate this incident urgently, fix accountability, and ensure such lapses never happen again," the Congress leader wrote.
Responding to Venugopal on X, Air India said, "We would like to clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions."
"A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC (air traffic control) during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway ... Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight," Air India claimed.
"We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority," the airline added.
The flight AI2455, operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, was airborne for more than two hours, according to information available on the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
"The flight crew of AI2455 operating from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi on August 10 made a precautionary diversion to Chennai due to a suspected technical issue and given the weather conditions en route," the airline said in a statement earlier.
Air India said the flight landed safely in Chennai, where the aircraft will undergo the necessary checks.
Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destinations at the earliest, Air India said, and regretted the inconvenience caused.
Details about the number of passengers were not available.
The flight took off a little past 8 pm from Thiruvananthapuram and landed in Chennai at around 10.35 pm, according to Flightradar24.com.
In recent weeks, there have been instances of Air India's aircraft facing technical snags.
