Smriti Irani’s chopper not allowed to land in Mansa, claims BJP

Sukhmeet Bhasin

Mansa, May 28

Parampal Kaur, the BJP candidate for the Bathinda constituency, has claimed that the helicopter carrying Union Minister Smriti Irani, who was supposed to address a public rally here in her favour, was not allowed to land at Mansa following orders from the Punjab Government.

Parampal said the Union Minister’s helicopter had arrived on time but was not allowed to land by the district administration.

Parampal said BJP leaders were being harassed by the government.

Blaming the government for egging on the farmers, she said they were being asked to organise sit-ins in front of their houses, and sometimes their events were disrupted. “The limit was crossed today when the Union Minister was sent back without addressing a rally,” she said. “What does the government want to prove? The government is undermining the democracy by such actions. Everyone here has the right to contest the elections. If the government has any grievance with me, let it shoot me dead but don’t resort to such action that hurt millions of people who had come to participate in the grand rally.”

Mansa DC Paramveer Singh said Smriti Irani’s helicopter had been given the permssion to land in Mansa, but why it returned without touching ground is unknown. He said Parampal’s allegations were baseless. He said he was present there for about half an hour waiting for the chopper to land there.