Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was stranded in Jharkhand’s Deoghar airport for nearly two hours on Friday after his special Indian Air Force (IAF) aircraft developed a snag, flew back to Delhi in another plane. PM Modi was supposed to return to New Delhi on the IAF plane after addressing a rally in Bihar’s Jamui, around 80 km from Deoghar. Senior Congress leader and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi too faced a two hour delay in the schedule due to a grounded helicopter close to the place where PM’s craft was held. 

The PM visited Jamui to attend a function marking the 150th birth anniversary of tribal leader Birsa Munda, celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Divas.

“PM Modi left for Delhi from Deoghar in another special aircraft after his IAF plane developed a technical snag. The aircraft could not be rectified on time. The PM had to wait for more than two hours,” Deoghar Deputy Commissioner Vishal Sagar said. While Modi waited for the issue to be resolved, the region’s airspace was declared a “no-flying zone”.

Meanwhile, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was also caught in a similar situation in Godda, Jharkhand.  Rahul’s helicopter, which was supposed to take him back after addressing an election rally, was grounded for about two hours, prompting allegations from the Congress that the delay was politically motivated.

“Our leader Rahul Gandhi’s helicopter was not allowed to take off for about two hours, posing a grave threat to his life. This was a security lapse at the behest of the Centre,” state minister Deepika Pandey Singh alleged.

Congress also Friday complained to the Election Commission against the alleged grounding of Rahul Gandhi’s helicopter in poll-bound Jharkhand and sought its urgent intervention in ensuring a level-playing field in poll campaigning.