Posted on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 - 07:17 pm:

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Lucknow: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday sought to nip in the bud a possible controversy when he made it clear that he did not force the helicopter pilot to land in zero visibility conditions in Sitapur on Monday evening.

"I am a pilot and I am absolutely aware of the dangers of flying in low visibility conditions.I will be the last person to do it," he told a press conference, dismissing UPCC President Rita Bahuguna Joshi's comments that he had forced the pilot to land in bad conditions.

"The PCC President is not a pilot. I have not put any pressure on the pilot. The pilot called me aside this morning and told me that the media was creating a controversy and putting my job in trouble. He has not broken any rule. You are
making a story and destroying their career. This is not fair," he said.

To questions on Rita Bahuguna Joshi's remarks, 39-year-old Rahul Gandhi said that she is not a pilot and she is also not a weather expert. There was plenty of visibility when the helicopter landed, he said.

Rita Bahuguna Joshi had earlier said Rahul had asked the pilot of the helicopter to land in "zero visibility" just to fulfill his commitment of meeting people.

"It was unbelievable when we landed the helicopter at zero visiblity. He risked his life but kept his promise. He is really making efforts to improve the administration of Uttar Pradesh"
— UPCC Chief, Rita Bahuguna Joshi to CNN-IBN

Rahul Gandhi said it was not fair to state that the helicopter landed in zero visibility and he would be absolutely the last person who will do that.

"Absolutely, no. You can also ask the Special Protection Group (SPG) if I have broken any rules or procedures," he said, adding that one should check up with the SPG director that on every occasion he has taken permission and done things.

"I don't know anything about it. it is very unfair to comment on it," said Civil Aviation Minister, Praful Patel.

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Posted on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 - 07:11 pm:

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Two days ahead of Rahul Gandhi's [ Images ] scheduled visit to Kheri, some of senior leaders from Uttar Pradesh [ Images ], mainly from Samajwadi Party, on Saturday joined the Congress.

Former state minister Banshi Dhar Raj (SP), Kheri Zila panchayat chairperson Anita Giri (SP) and MLC Dhirendra Bahadur Singh (SP) joined the Congress, in the national capital, Congress leaders said. The leaders had left the SP last week after their serious differences with local party leaders.

Banshi Dhar Raj, who returns to the Congress, had joined SP after parting ways from it in 2002. Two other leaders -- ex-minister Ram Krishna and Jila Parishad chairman Ajay Bhargava (both from Sitapur) – also joined Congress.

DCC chief Iqbal Ahmad said AICC chief Sonia Gandhi [ Images ] and general secretary Digvijay Singh [ Images ] had approved the membership of these leaders.

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Posted on Tuesday, December 08, 2009 - 07:10 pm:

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Contradicting Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi's [ Images ] claim that he always believed in strictly adhering to all security norms and rules, the district magistrate of Sitapur has pointedly accused him of violating all security procedures.

In a report sent to the Uttar Pradesh [ Images ] home department, Sitapur District Magistrate Sanjay Kumar has clearly stated that Rahul's helicopter had not only landed well after sunset, but he had also refused to use the bullet-proof vehicle provided to him by the administration as a part of his entitlement as a Special Protection Group covered leader.

"Mr. Rahul Gandhi landed here at 5.30 pm, while the sun had already set at 5.13 pm," Kumar said.

According to him, "The Congress general secretary was an hour and forty-five minutes behind schedule."

He said, "SPG continued to mislead the local officials by deferring the expected time of arrival every 10-15 minutes."

In his report, the DM has added, "Instead of using an official bullet-proof car specially requisitioned for him, Rahul Gandhi chose to drive down to Hardoi in a private non-bullet-proof vehicle against basic security norms."

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