Veteran Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) chief Sharad Pawar has reacted to the tragic death of his nephew and deputy minister Ajit Pawar in the Baramati plane crash, describing it as an “accident” as he sought to quell any speculation of a plane crash.
Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee floated a political conspiracy theory behind Ajit Pawar’s death. Mamata Banerjee said that just two days ago there were reports that Ajit was willing to quit the BJP.
“I don’t know what is the fate of the opposition political parties but he was very much with the ruling party. But two days ago I came to know that someone from another party gave a statement that Pawar is willing to quit the BJP. Now it has happened,” she said, demanding a Supreme Court-monitored probe.
A visibly emotional Sharad Pawar also appealed in his video statement not to politicize the plane crash that killed his nephew and four others. “The untimely death of Ajit Pawar is a huge shock to Maharashtra. The state has lost an able and decisive leader today,” he said. Also read | Ajit Pawar’s last moments: Learjet 45 pilot reports poor visibility before landing – ‘then ATC saw flames’
In apparent disdain for Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar said, “There has been an attitude from Kolkata that there is some politics in this incident. But there is nothing like that. There is no politics in this; it is purely a coincidence. It has caused immense grief to me and the entire state of Maharashtra. I appeal to everyone not to politicize this tragedy.”
He said, “Not all things are in our hands.”
Ajit Pawar died today, January 28, after his chartered plane crashed at Baramati Airport during landing. Ajit Pawar went to Baramati from Mumbai to attend civic election rallies. The plane made an emergency landing near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board the chartered plane. Among the dead were his personal security officer, a flight attendant and two pilots.
What Center said about the Baramati plane crash
According to the ministry, the pilot informed the air traffic controller (ATC) about poor visibility around the runway. ATC told investigators that after the pilot reported “no runway visible,” he later informed an ATC operator that the runway was in sight.
The plane was cleared to land on Runway 11, but the plane, a Learjet 45, “did not issue a return clearance to land”.
“They were asked to report a runway in sight. They replied, ‘runway not in sight at the moment, will call when runway in sight’. After a few seconds they reported that the runway was in sight. The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 11 at 0843IST; however, they did not return the clearance,” they said.
