Rajya Sabha MP Parth Pawar on Tuesday said his recent travel in an aircraft operated by VSR Aviation was due to an “administrative mistake”, after social activist Anjali Damania questioned the use of the company’s services.
The controversy stems from the fact that a VSR Aviation aircraft crash near Baramati earlier this year claimed the life of his father, former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
In a statement, Pawar said he needed to urgently travel to Modi Baug in Pune to meet his grandfather, Sharad Pawar, and had asked his office to arrange a chartered aircraft at short notice.
“Due to the last-minute arrangement, a VSR Aviation aircraft was unknowingly booked for me. Until I reached the airport and boarded the aircraft, I had no idea that it belonged to VSR Aviation,” he said.
Calling it an “administrative lapse”, Pawar said he has taken serious note of the incident and that the contract with the booking agent responsible for arranging the aircraft is being terminated.
“Our opposition to VSR Aviation continues to remain firm. Attempts to create controversy over this issue are baseless, misleading and unfortunate. It is wrong to politicise the matter without understanding the actual circumstances,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}“Our opposition to VSR Aviation continues to remain firm. Attempts to create controversy over this issue are baseless, misleading and unfortunate. It is wrong to politicise the matter without understanding the actual circumstances,” he said.
{{/usCountry}}The issue surfaced after Damania posted on X questioning Pawar’s decision. “Three months after his father died in a VSR company plane crash, how can the son travel in the same company’s aircraft? Instead of demanding an inquiry into VSR Aviation, Parth Pawar is travelling in its aircraft without concern?” she wrote.
She also shared what she claimed was a passenger manifest showing a VSR Aviation flight from Mumbai to Pune on April 28, allegedly listing Parth Pawar and others as passengers along with three crew members.
Damania further questioned the presence of government-linked individuals on the flight, alleging that two of them were associated with the office of Sunetra Pawar and were government-paid officials engaged in private work for the Pawar family. Referring to the earlier Mundhwa land controversy, she claimed the same officials had previously supported Parth Pawar while attached to Ajit Pawar’s office.
For the past several weeks, Rohit Pawar has repeatedly raised questions over the Baramati aircraft crash and the role of VSR Aviation, demanding a transparent and detailed investigation into the incident. On Tuesday, Rohit Pawar visited the office of the Crime Investigation Department to seek updates on the probe. However, no senior officer was available at the office when he arrived
“Despite informing them in advance, officials were not present when I visited the office today,” said Rohit Pawar earlier in the day.
Meanwhile, several members of the younger generation of the Pawar family gathered at Sharad Pawar’s Modi Baug residence in Pune ahead of the wedding celebrations of Revati Sule, scheduled for June 20. While MP Parth Pawar was seen attending the family gathering, Jay Pawar was absent from the event.