Rahul Gandhi likely to appear before Chaibasa MP-MLA court on Wednesday over defamation case
Ranchi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is likely to appear before the MP-MLA Court in Jharkhand's Chaibasa on Wednesday in connection with a case related to alleged defamatory remarks against Union Home Minister Amit Shah at a rally in 2018.
Security has been beefed up in Chaibasa, the district headquarters of West Singhbhum, ahead of the scheduled arrival of Gandhi.
The West Singhbhum district administration has made adequate security arrangements to maintain law and order in view of Gandhi's visit, said Sub-Divisional Officer (Sadar) Sandeep Anurag Topno.
Topno said a helipad has been set up at Tata College Ground, where Gandhi's helicopter will land around 10 am on Wednesday
"He is likely to appear before the court around 10.40 am and will return to Ranchi after the court proceedings," the SDO said.
Gandhi had on June 2 moved the Jharkhand High Court, challenging the order of the special court here, which had directed him to appear before it on June 26.
The Congress MP's counsel had informed the high court on June 10 that his client would not be able to appear on the specified day, and instead requested it to grant a date on August 6.
The high court had accepted his request.
A case of defamation was filed against Gandhi by a person named Pratap Kumar for allegedly making defamatory statements against Union Home Minister Shah at a rally in Chaibasa in 2018.
Kumar, in his petition filed before the court of the magistrate in Chaibasa, had alleged that Gandhi's statements were defamatory and made purposely to malign the stature of Shah.
Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, arrived in Jharkhand on Tuesday to attend the funeral of veteran tribal leader and former chief minister Shibu Soren at his ancestral village Nemra in adjoining Ramgarh district.
Former Congress state president Rajesh Thakur said Gandhi would spend the night in Ranchi.
Gandhi and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Tuesday could not attend the funeral of Shibu Soren as their helicopter could not take off due to inclement weather conditions in Ranchi, where they landed around 3.30 pm from Delhi.
However, they left for Nemra by road and reached around 6.45 pm to meet Hemant Soren and consoled him.
"Last Johar, Dishom Guru Shibu Soren ji. You were a staunch protector of tribal identity and water, forest and land, and a guide on the path of justice... Your consciousness like that of Hul and your resolve like that of Dharti Aaba will always remain alive in our songs, our soil and our thoughts," Gandhi had said in a post on X late on Tuesday.
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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.
