On G20 sidelines, politics plays out as Congress, Govt spar over ‘travel curbs’, dinner

The ministry said, “In a news report, Rajasthan Chief Minister has claimed denial of approval for his helicopter flight by the MHA. Four requests were received from CM Rajasthan for flight permissions, including for Sikar, and all were approved by the MHA. No request from CM Rajasthan has been denied.”

In a news report, Rajasthan Chief Minister has claimed denial of approval for his helicopter flight by the MHA. Four requests were received from CM Rajasthan for flight permissions, including for Sikar, and all were approved by the MHA. (1/2)@HMOIndia @PIB_India @DDNewslive

— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) September 9, 2023

“While all scheduled flights of commercial aircraft and movement of Governors and state Chief Ministers on their state aircraft are allowed, private chartered flights require specific MHA approval,” the ministry said.

Gehlot hit back, accusing the MHA of spreading confusion among the people by sharing wrong information.

“Yesterday I had a plan to go from Udaipur to Jaipur by plane and from Jaipur to Sikar and from Sikar to Niwai by helicopter. For this, the helicopter had to reach Jaipur from Udaipur in advance, but it was said that due to the G20 protocol in place, a helicopter or plane can fly only when the CM himself is on board,” he said in a post on X.

कल मेरा उदयपुर से जयपुर प्लेन से एवं जयपुर से सीकर एवं सीकर से निवाई हेलिकॉप्टर से जाने का कार्यक्रम था। इसके लिए हेलिकॉप्टर को एडवांस में उदयपुर से जयपुर पहुंचना था परन्तु ऐसा बताया कि जी-20 के प्रोटोकॉल कारण हेलिकॉप्टर या प्लेन तभी यात्रा कर सकते हैं जब CM स्वयं उसमें सवार हो।… https://t.co/owGA3oJetl

— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) September 9, 2023

“The permission to fly the helicopter was sought through e-mail at 10.48 am but it was not received till 2.50 pm. To inform the waiting public (in Sikar), I tweeted at 2.52 pm and told them the reason for not being able to come. I also called (Peethadhishwar) Shri Om Das Maharaj of Sangliya Peeth and informed him,” he said.

Gehlot said that permission from the MHA finally came at 3.58 pm but by then he had left Udaipur for Jaipur by airplane and then left Jaipur for Niwai by road.

“I did not want to create any controversy in the name of G20, hence I did not condemn it and only informed the public about the facts. But now I am sad that the Home Ministry has made an unsuccessful attempt to spread confusion among the public by giving wrong information,” he said.

The MHA also responded to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel’s claim that he was unable to attend the state dinner because Delhi has become a no-fly zone. “In a news report, Chief Minister Chhattisgarh has expressed his inability to participate in the G20 dinner at Leaders’ Summit at Delhi… due to the air restrictions in and around Delhi. MHA has clarified to the state that while a high-tech security air cover has been deployed for G20 Leaders’ Summit at Delhi on 8-11 September 2023, movement of Governors and state Chief Ministers on their state aircraft are allowed,” the ministry posted on X.

In a news report, Chief Minister Chhattisgarh has expressed his inability to participate in G20 Dinner at Leaders’ Summit at Delhi on 9 Sept 2023 due to air restrictions in and around Delhi. (1/2)@HMOIndia @PIB_India @DDNewslive @airnewsalerts

— Spokesperson, Ministry of Home Affairs (@PIBHomeAffairs) September 9, 2023

Several Chief Ministers of the opposition INDIA bloc – among them Bihar’s Nitish Kumar, Tamil Nadu’s M K Stalin, West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee, Delhi’s Arvind Kejriwal and Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren were in Delhi to attend the state dinner Saturday night. Of the four Congress Chief Ministers, Himachal Pradesh’s Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu is set to attend the dinner.

Meanwhile, Congress leaders slammed the government for not extending an invitation to Kharge for the dinner.

“I cannot imagine any other democratic country’s government not inviting the recognised Leader of the Opposition to a state dinner for world leaders. This can happen only in countries where there is no Democracy or no Opposition. I hope India, that is Bharat, has not reached a stage where Democracy and the Opposition will cease to exist,” senior Congress leader P Chidambaram said.

I cannot imagine any other democratic country’s government not inviting the recognised Leader of the Opposition to a state dinner for world leaders

This can happen only in countries where there is no Democracy or no Opposition

I hope India, that is Bharat, has not reached a…

— P. Chidambaram (@PChidambaram_IN) September 9, 2023

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, too, had slammed the government Friday, saying the decision to not invite the Leader of the Opposition shows that the government does not value “the leader of 60 per cent of India’s population”.

Incidentally, the leaders of the INDIA bloc were silent on the row.

The Congress also accused the government of covering up or demolishing slums and rounding up stray animals in view of the G20 Summit. “GOI is hiding our poor people and animals. There is no need to hide India’s reality from our guests,” Gandhi said in a post on X.

GOI is hiding our poor people and animals.

There is no need to hide India’s reality from our guests.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) September 9, 2023

His party colleague Jairam Ramesh raked up the Adani issue, saying in a statement that while the theme of the G20 is ‘One Earth, One Family, One Future’, Prime Minister Narendra Modi seems to actually believe in “One Man, One Government, One Business Group”.