Civil aviation ministry to probe if Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann got drunk and boarded flight
The Ministry of Civil Aviation is going to probe allegations that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was deplaned from a Delhi-bound flight at Frankfurt airport in Germany because he was “drunk”.
Civil Aviation minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said, “This was international soil. We will have to make sure we verify facts. It is up to Lufthansa to provide data. I’ll certainly, based on request sent to me, look into it.”
A political firestorm had erupted on Monday after reports surfaced that a Frankfurt-Delhi flight operated by Lufthansa was delayed due to Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, who was deplaned for being “too drunk to walk”.
The German airline later issued a clarification that the delay was caused due to “delayed inbound flight and an aircraft change”.
The Shiromani Akali Dal and Punjab Congress had alleged that Mann was barred from the Lufthansa flight because of being in an inebriated state.
“Disturbing media reports quoting co-passengers say Pb CM @BhagwantMann was deplaned from Lufthansa flight as he was too drunk to walk. And it led to a 4-hour flight delay. He missed AAP’s national convention. These reports have embarrassed & shamed Punjabis all over the globe,” SAD leader Bikram Singh Majithia tweeted.
However, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief spokesperson Malvinder Singh Kang called the allegations baseless and bogus, and accused the rival parties of indulging in negative propaganda to defame the Punjab CM.
