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‘For self-proclaimed PM’: Suvendu Adhikari’s dig at Mamata over tender for plane
BJP state president Dilip Ghosh chipped in, wondering why West Bengal’s Mamata Banerjee government needed to go for a plane when it already has a helicopter.
Kolkata: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has been on an offensive against the ruling Trinamool Congress’ Mamata Banerjee, threw darts at the West Bengal chief minister on Wednesday over the state government’s move to get a 10-seater plane on lease.
Suvendu Adhikari, the leader of opposition in the assembly who defeated Banerjee in a close contest in Nandigram, wondered whether the stipulation that the plane should be able to fly to any part of the country was designed with an eye on the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
“Pushpak Rath for (self proclaimed) PM??? Dissatisfied with helicopter’s range, process of acquiring a 10 seater Airplane has been initiated. Convenient for whimsical criss-crossing of the entire country for upcoming Loksava (Lok Sabha) poll campaigning? On Govt expenses?” tweeted Adhikari, a reference to Banerjee’s prime ministerial ambitions.
On June 11, the West Bengal Transport Infrastructure Development Corporation Ltd floated an e-tender for hiring a fixed-wing, twin-engine aircraft on wet lease for three years. The aircraft should be air-conditioned and capable of night operation, said the tender notice which said the plane was proposed to be leased for the state’s dignitaries.
The tender said the plane should be able to operate in any part of the country and be a super mid-sized aircraft equivalent to the Falcon 2000 or similar models. The aircraft would fly for at least 45 hours a month, the notice said.
BJP state president Dilip Ghosh wondered why the state government needed to go for a plane. “The government already has a helicopter. Why does it need an aircraft when there are only three operational airports in the state?” he said, a reference to airports in state capital Kolkata, Siliguri’s Bagdogra and the Kazi Nazrul Islam Airport in Paschim Bardhaman district.
“This is a wastage of public money,” Ghosh said.
Trinamool Congress hit back at the BJP, pointing that there were states which had more than one aircraft. “Many states in India have more than one plane. Adhikari should be aware that before the 2014 Lok Sabha polls Narendra Modi used the Gujarat government’s plane to fly between different states for campaigning,” TMC Lok Sabha member Saugata Roy said.
