Ranchi: State chief electoral officer K Ravi Kumar on Tuesday asked R R Maurya, the director of Ranchi’s Birsa Munda airport, to file a status report on JMM’s claims that the helicopter of its star campaigner Hemant Soren was prevented from taking off for nearly 90 minutes on Monday citing PM Narendra Modi’s security protocol.
“The airport director has been asked to submit a status report on the issue by Wednesday morning. The EC’s guidelines are being implemented so that all candidates in the fray for the ensuing election get a level playing field,” the CEO’s office said in a statement.
Modi addressed two election rallies in Garhwa and Chaibasa on Monday to canvas for BJP candidates including former CM Champai Soren.
Hemant, who on the other hand is canvassing for JMM, Congress, RJD and CPI-ML-L candidates, addressed a rally in Chaibasa’s Gudri, roughly 80 km away from Modi’s rally site and was due to fly out to Simdega when his chopper was allegedly not cleared to fly for 90 minutes owing to the no-fly zone which was in place for Modi.
JMM had alleged that the EC’s manuals had been flouted. “In case of election, the no fly zone will only exist over a 50-km radius and that too for 15 minutes,” JMM claimed.
The CEO said a meeting had been held with representatives of all political parties and the airport officials on October 23 to apprise everyone about the flying protocols of VIPs and star campaigners during the election. “An emergency number to report confusion and mismanagement had also been circulated to all parties,” the statement read.