Commotion at airport as tainted MP comes calling

More drama ensued when,in order to evade the mob at the arrival gate,Kalmadi,accompanied by loyalist Sangeeta Tiwari and police officers,was guided to the departure gate. The crowd carrying flowers,garlands and bouquets,prevented the MP from getting to his car outside the airport. Eventually,corporator Deepak Mankar had to bring the car to the MP. The high point of the ‘grand entry’ by Kalmadi was when he opened the sun roof of his Grand Vitara and spoke to the supporters,screaming slogans like ‘Sabse Bada Khiladi,Sureshbhai Kalmadi’ at the top of their lungs.

To an onlooker,they might have appeared to be cheering the city MP,but a few of those The Indian Express spoke to were not aware of what they have come to the airport for. “I have come here for a morcha,” said one Meena from Khadki. Akshay Shinde,a teenager from Aundh Road,said he had come to support his leader,whom he identified as Kailas Gaikwad. A group of school children with name — Manish Anand written on their T-shirts and flowers in their hands — were waiting for Kalmadi’s arrival since 4 pm. Anand is the vice-president of Khadki Cantonment Board (KCB). One of the Kalmadi ‘supporters’ from Pimpri also came with one bhangra group that could not perform due to the chaos at the airport.

There was yet another traffic jam as the car,accompanied by vehicles of other leaders and the supporters on bikes and in trucks,left the premises. The passengers waiting in their cars for the next flight were relieved only after the procession left.

Kalmadi later visited Sassoon Hospital,where he interacted with Prafulla Nair,a 20-year-old student of Symbiosis who suffered injuries in the recent ST bus tragedy. He is the only one who remains admitted to the hospital. “We were not aware of the visit till afternoon. He inquired about Prafulla’s health,” said M V Parameswaran,a relative of Nair.

Kalmadi visited Dagdusheth Ganpati before returning to his residence on Prabhat Road around 8.30 pm. During his journey,intercepted by reporters at various places,Kalmadi refused to utter a word.