Amid reports of Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann being deplaned from a Lufthansa flight from Frankfurt to Delhi triggering a huge outcry, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday said that it was up to the airlines to provide the details of the incident and based on that he would look into the matter.
“The incident took place on international soil. We’ll have to make sure we verify facts. It’s up to Lufthansa to provide data. I’ll certainly, based on request sent to me, look into it,” said Scindia.
Earlier, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday alleged that Mann was deplaned from a Lufthansa flight at the Frankfurt airport because he was in an inebriated state. The Congress leader and Leader of Opposition of Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa in a letter to Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has sought an inquiry into the matter. Bikram Singh Majithia, an Akali Dal leader, had asked the Arvind Kejriwal-led party to reveal the reason behind his absence from the party's national convention.
"News streaming on social media that Bhagwant Mann was offloaded along with his entourage from a Lufthansa flight on Saturday 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 Bhagwant Mann is holding. Therefore I would request you, kindly initiate an inquiry for verification of this news from the Lufthansa airlines as it involves not only an individual but the office he represents and such a conduct deserves to be deprecated,” Bajwa stated in the letter.
In the midst of it all, Lufthansa issued a vague statement. The German carrier on the microblogging site accepted that it departed 'later than originally planned' but attributed this to a delayed inbound flight and an aircraft change.
"Our flight from Frankfurt to Delhi departed later than originally planned due to a delayed inbound flight and an aircraft change. Best regards," the statement by the airline carrier read. The carrier, however, remained silent on whether or not Mann was deplaned.