Mysuru: City Police Commissioner Ramesh Banoth, who held an emergency press meet at his office on Thursday to speak about the prohibitory orders in the city during the 'Mahisha Dasara' celebrations told reporters that the city police would take action against BJP MP Pratap Simha for his controversial statement against 'Mahisha Dasara' as advised by legal experts.
"The Mysuru Police team is keeping a watch on the MP's statements and activities. We have consulted legal experts about the matter and expect a response from the experts latest by tomorrow. Any legal action against Pratap Simha will be taken after we receive the written response of the experts," said Banoth.
In response to a question on the recent Karnataka Congress spokesperson M Laxman's demand for the city police to voluntarily book a case and arrest Pratap Simha for his statements, Banoth stated that the Mysuru police will take any action in the matter after a reply from the legal experts. "We are focusing on maintaining peace as well as law and order in the city and will take any necessary action to do so," he stressed.
MP Pratap Simha had recently declared that the BJP would fight desperately against holding 'Mahisha Dasara' celebrations in Mysuru. "We have built this party and even the nation putting forth struggles at necessary levels. Similarly, we will fight against the worship of an evil character like Mahisha. If necessary, we will also destroy all citizens who attend the event to celebrate 'Mahisha Dasara' here," he had said in a press meet held at the BJP Mysuru unit office.
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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.