In the middle of a controversy after he rescheduled his return journey from Frankfurt in Germany, a last-minute change for taking another flight to Delhi, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was at the centre of an attack from Opposition political parties on Monday.
Congress’s Partap Singh Bajwa, Punjab’s Leader of the Opposition, urged the Central government to initiate a probe into the matter, while the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) asked Mr. Mann and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal to come clean on the issue.
In a letter to Jyotiraditya Scindia, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. Bajwa said, “News streaming on social media that Sh. Bhagwant Mann, Chief Minister, Punjab, was offloaded along with his entourage from a Lufthansa flight on Saturday 17th instant, at Frankfurt Airport, since he was found to be in an inebriated state and declared unfit to travel, is doing the rounds. If it were true, it certainly is a bad reflection on the office Mr. Bhagwant Mann is holding. Therefore, I would request you kindly initiate an inquiry for verification of this news from Luthansa Airlines as it involves not only an individual but the office he represents and such conduct deserves to be deprecated.”
