NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar has ruled out conspiracy in the death of his nephew Ajit Pawar.
“Some people are trying to give a political colour to the incident. There is no politics involved; it is purely an accident. It has caused immense grief to me and to the entire state of Maharashtra. I appeal to everyone not to politicise this tragedy,” Pawar said in his reaction to the Maharashtra deputy chief minister’s death.
Mamata Banerjee demanded a Supreme Court-monitored investigation into the plane crash that killed Ajit Pawar and four others.
The Congress president and leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mallikarjun Kharge too supported Mamata’s call for a probe.
“There should be a probe as this is an accident. Everyone, all leaders, keep travelling for urgent work. In Ahmedabad we saw how a big plane crashed. This was a small place, why did this happen? It should be probed.”
Speaking to reporters in Kolkata, Mamata had demanded a court-monitored probe saying she had no faith in any of the investigating agencies, in this case the CBI.
Akhilesh Yadav, the Unnao MP and Samajwadi Party chief, said Mamata’s call for a court-monitored probe was justified.
"He (Ajit Pawar) was a big leader, served as a deputy chief minister many times, and a popular leader of Maharashtra. She (Banerjee) must have made a justified demand. Earlier as well, many VIPs lost their lives in a similar manner, so there should be an impartial probe so it can be known what the reason for the accident was," Yadav said.
In the recent civic polls held in Maharashtra, the late Ajit Pawar had contested the polls in alliance with his estranged uncle, the Maratha strongman Sharad Pawar. Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Sanjay Raut had claimed some days ago, Ajit was in touch with his uncle and would soon quit the ruling Mahayuti alliance, comprising the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP, in Maharashtra.
Shiv Sena (UBT) MP Anil Desai echoed the need for a thorough probe.
"There has to be an investigation because these kinds of incidents keep happening. Everybody is wondering why. On one hand, demand for chartered planes has increased, private planes are on the rise, but at the same time, incidents of technical glitches, or other reasons come forth after an accident, there has to be a thorough investigation," said Anil Desai, the Shiv Sena (UBT) MP from Mumbai South Central Lok Sabha constituency.
BJD vice president Debi Prasad Mishra also called for a thorough investigation, keeping the focus on the accident.
The Bengal BJP co-incharge Amit Malviya demanded a court-monitored probe into the fire accident at a warehouse in Anandapur.
“Chief minister Mamata Banerjee, instead of making insensitive remarks on the unfortunate demise of the deputy chief minister of Maharashtra, must focus on ensuring justice and timely relief for the victims’ families in West Bengal. Given the abysmal track record of her administration, it would be in the interest of justice to hand over the investigation to a Supreme Court-monitored SIT to thoroughly probe the tragic incident and fix accountability, since it is the only institution she seems to trust,” Malviya wrote on X.
Maharashtra Assembly Speaker Rahul Narwekar said, "This is baseless and extremely low remarks. After someone has passed away, making such remarks hurts the people who are in pain. This is not in our culture.
Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu said Mamata was indulging in dirty politics.
"It is unfortunate and unfair that 'dirty politics' is being played when Pawar's family and others connected to him are grieving. This is extremely unfortunate. If anyone else wants to play politics, let them do so, but political people are supposed to understand everything; they are aware of all facts. To mislead in this manner, when today the family has suffered such a huge loss, is unfair," Bittu said.
"If you had to say something like this, you could have done it a few days later. If your desire to indulge in such dirty politics was not satisfied, you could at least have allowed the family a few days to perform the last rites and rituals. She is a senior leader. I don't want to say anything but choosing to do this today itself is a very petty act," he added.
Union aviation minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu said preliminary reports indicate poor visibility at the airport at the time of the crash.
“Teams from the DGCA (Directorate General of Civil Aviation) and AAIB (Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau) have arrived to carry out a probe into the accident. Preliminary information suggests that visibility was poor at the time the aircraft was attempting to land,” he said.