About Us Contact us Kannada

Grammy award winner Ricky Kej has raised concerns about Air India's services by citing two recent incidents and the airline has said that corrective steps will be taken where necessary.

In a series of posts on X on Sunday, Kej mentioned about his experience at the Delhi airport before taking an Air India flight to Bengaluru on September 14.

The incident was related to payment for excess baggage.

The musician also wrote about an incident onboard the Mumbai-San Francisco flight on September 20 wherein initially flight attendants did not respond to a passenger's repeated call for service.

When contacted, an Air India spokesperson said the airline has taken the feedback seriously and will take "corrective steps where necessary so that such incidents are not repeated".

While mentioning about the two incidents, Kej also said, "I am certain a few people will troll me, asking me why do I keep doing this to myself... travel through such a terrible airline, but I will continuously give them chances and criticize them for errors, till they improve".

While regretting the inconvenience caused, the Air India spokesperson in the statement also said such isolated incidents are not representative of the commitment of its staff towards service excellence.

Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.

Comments

Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.

Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.

After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.

A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.

Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.

Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.

“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).

He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.

“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.

When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”

Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.

“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.

He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.

“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.

The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.

“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.

Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”

Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.

Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.

“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.

Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.

All Stories

Man kills woman lecturer, sets car ablaze; dies by suicide in Karnataka
Man kills woman lecturer, sets car ablaze; dies by suicide in Karnataka

A 46-year-old man allegedly killed a woman lecturer by setting fire to the car with her inside, before dying by suicide; his severed body was found by railway police the next day, police said on Tuesday.
FIR registered after drone spotted flying over ISRO's ISITE campus in Bengaluru
FIR registered after drone spotted flying over ISRO's ISITE campus in Bengaluru

An unmanned aerial vehicle was allegedly spotted flying over the ISRO's ISITE campus here, a designated "No Drone Zone", following which a probe has been launched, police said on Tuesday.
Samson's unbeaten 87 powers CSK to eight-wicket win over DC
Samson's unbeaten 87 powers CSK to eight-wicket win over DC

Sanju Samson bossed the chase with authority, anchoring a modest 156-run target with a fluent 87 not out as Chennai Super Kings outclassed Delhi Capitals by eight wickets in the IPL here on Tuesday.

Copyright © 2026. Vartha Bharati. All rights reserved