Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann cancels Goa visit due to fog; issues condolence message over Ajit Pawar’s death: ‘extremely disturbing’
Bhagwant Mann had initially planned a one-day visit to Goa where he was to address people on the Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana rolled out in Punjab under which each family gets healthcare cover worth Rs 10 lakh.
Sources said Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann then left for Dhudike, the native village of martyr Lala Lajpat Rai whose birth anniversary is observed on Wednesday. (File photo) Punjab Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann’s day-long visit to Goa on Wednesday was cancelled due to inclement weather as the fixed-wing aircraft hired by the state government was unable to take off from Chandigarh due to a thick layer of fog that engulfed the region.
Sources said Mann then left for Dhudike, the native village of martyr Lala Lajpat Rai whose birth anniversary is observed on the day. The chief minister will pay tributes to the revolutionary there.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mann issued a statement expressing his condolences on the death of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit Pawar. “There has been news of Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar’s plane crashing during landing in Maharashtra’s Baramati. The images of smoke and destruction are extremely disturbing,” he posted on X.
“In this accident, there has been news of the death of the Deputy Chief Minister as well as others. Our heartfelt condolences to the families. We pray to God to grant the lost souls a place in His feet and to give strength to the families to accept the loss,” Mann added.
Pawar’s aircraft flew for around 35 minutes before crashing near Baramati on Wednesday, according to flight-tracking data. According to preliminary information provided by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), none of the five people on board survived the crash.
Mann had initially planned a one-day visit to Goa where he was to address people on the Mukh Mantri Sehat Bima Yojana (MMSBY) rolled out in Punjab under which the state government provides healthcare cover worth Rs 10 lakh to every family.
On Tuesday, Goa AAP president Valmiki Naik had announced that Mann would be in the coastal state on Wednesday. “We look forward to welcoming him!,” Naik posted on his X handle. The party was, however, yet to announce the programmes that Mann would attend though he was likely to address a press conference.
After the AAP’s dismal performance in Goa in the recent zila parishad elections, the party is now Goa bound, in a bid to strengthen its organisational framework there. The AAP, which has two MLAs in Goa, could win only one out of the 40-odd seats that it had contested in the zila parishad polls.
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