NCP MLA Rohit Pawar, nephew of the late Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, on Wednesday demanded the suspension of Union Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu until the investigation into the January 28 air crash that killed his uncle is completed.
Rohit Pawar, who represents the Sharad Pawar-led NCP faction, alleged that Naidu shares close ties with the owners of Delhi-based air charter firm VSR the company whose Learjet carried Ajit Pawar on the day of the fatal crash near Baramati. He further alleged that VSR’s owners are being “protected” because Naidu belongs to the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), led by Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and a key NDA partner of the BJP.
Speaking to mediapersons, Rohit Pawar pointed out that several former Maharashtra ministers and senior TDP leaders from Andhra Pradesh had attended the wedding of Rohit Singh, son of VSR owner VK Singh. He also noted that some politicians continue to use the company’s Learjet aircraft even after the crash.
“Naidu should not continue as civil aviation minister on moral grounds,” he said, adding that no preliminary probe report has been released yet and that there are reasons to believe efforts are being made by people in power to shield the company.
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Rohit Pawar demanded a CBI investigation into VSR Air Charter, to be conducted under a committee comprising Opposition leaders, members of the Pawar family, and a sitting judge.
He also raised the possibility that the crash could have been a deliberate act. “If this is an assassination, there are two possibilities — we would either go with the NDA due to a merger, or Ajit Dada would have had to give up power. The second possibility would have upset the political calculations of a certain group. So, perhaps such a group could be behind this, since they did not want any NCP merger,” he said.
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