The Congress on Monday claimed that the authorities in Varanasi denied permission to party MP Rahul Gandhi’s plane to land at the airport.
Gandhi was slated to arrive in Varanasi on Monday night and to offer prayers at the Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple on Tuesday morning.
Congress leader Ajay Rai claimed that airport authorities in Varanasi denied landing permission for Gandhi’s plane under pressure from the government and that they used President Droupadi Murmu’s visit as a pretext.
The president had visited Varanasi on Monday.
“They [airport authorities] denied permission for the aircraft citing heavy traffic,” he claimed. “...The prime minister has been scared since the [Bharat Jodo] Yatra was organised, which is why Rahul Gandhi is being stopped and harassed.”
The Congress claimed that the Bharat Jodo Yatra was aimed at countering the politics of hatred espoused by the Bharatiya Janata Party. The march, in which Gandhi covered 12 states on foot, ended on January 30.
However, the director of the Varanasi airport, Aryama Sanyal, denied that permission had been denied for Gandhi’s aircraft, PTI reported. The official said that there was no prior information about the Wayanad MP’s arrival.
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