Mumbai, March 17 – Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Rohit Pawar criticised Union Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu Kinjarapu on Tuesday for his response to the plane crash in which former Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar died.
In a post on X, Rohit Pawar wrote, “Well, what expectations can we have from someone who attended the wedding of the son of the owner of the VSR company (who has financial ties with them and accepted hospitality)?“
He further said, “The entire nation watched the hasty and evasive response of the Central Civil Aviation Minister on the sensitive issue of Ajitdada’s plane crash. The Minister, who claimed that an investigation was underway transparently and according to international standards, said that the black box was destroyed (even though it was safe in the Baramati crash). My simple question to you, sir, why isn’t this information being provided to the American agency that is seeking details on the Ahmedabad crash? They must provide answers to the raised questions.”
Rohit Pawar, who had met with several opposition leaders to raise the issue of the plane crash, said, “However, I am confident that @INCIndia, along with the #INDIA alliance, will effectively raise this issue in Parliament!”
Earlier, Rohit Pawar demanded the resignation of the Union Civil Aviation Minister until the ongoing investigation into the plane crash. He also appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis for a deeper investigation into whether the incident was a genuine accident or a deliberate attempt on the leader's life.
According to Rohit Pawar, visibility on the day of the accident was extremely poor, measuring only 3,000 meters. He claimed that the aircraft’s pilot, Captain Kapoor, had contacted the owner of VSR Ventures, V.K. Singh, whose aircraft carrying Ajit Pawar crashed in Baramati on January 28, to report that takeoff was impossible due to weather conditions.
“Captain Kapoor explicitly told V K Singh that visibility was poor and they could not take off. However, Singh allegedly ordered him to proceed, saying, ‘You take off, I will handle the rest later,’" Rohit Pawar claimed.
Pawar asserted that the Call Detail Records (CDR) of V.K. Singh would provide the necessary evidence of this conversation.
Highlighting the pilot’s state of mind, Pawar noted that medical reports confirmed Captain Kapoor had no traces of drugs, alcohol, or toxins in his system. “If the pilot was sober and professional, why did he take such a risk? We need to dig deeper into the pressure he was under. Why is V K Singh being shielded?” he questioned.