Supriya Sule demands high security for Rohit Pawar as Jay Pawar seeks ban on VSR

Sharad Pawar-led NCP Lok Sabha MP and working president of the party Supriya Sule demanded high security for her party MLA Rohit Pawar who alleged on Wednesday that the ill-fated Learjet 45XR aircraft operated by the Delhi-based VSR Ventures Private Ltd, which flew his late uncle and deputy CM Ajit Pawar on January 28, was made to crash deliberately by “some people in power”.

Talking to media persons here on Thursday, Sule expressed concern over the suggestions about “foul play” and demanded that questions raised by party leaders and others should be discussed in Parliament.

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“Ajit Pawar was Rohit Pawar’s uncle. Rohit Pawar, along with several others, has concerns and uneasiness regarding this matter. Ajit Pawar-led NCP MLA Amol Mitkari has also raised questions. Uddhav Thackeray-led Shiv Sena and the Congress have also fully supported us. They have said that this issue should be discussed in Parliament and even met the Speaker in this regard. There are many questions in the minds of the people, and they deserve answers. I only want to say that what has happened should not happen to anyone else. I expect the Union Civil Aviation Ministry to hold a press conference and provide answers to at least some of the questions raised by Rohit Pawar,” she said.

“Rohit Pawar has raised many issues. The entire Pawar family and millions of people have questions in their minds which are disturbing. Ajit Pawar’s sons Parth Pawar and Jay Pawar are still in shock. Jay Pawar has expressed his feelings. Rohit is raising many issues and many are worried about his personal security. Therefore, the government must provide high security to Rohit Pawar. We have raised this issue in Parliament and have demanded a high-level inquiry. Now Jai Pawar has also expressed doubts about possible foul play. Our demand will continue until we get all the answers,” Supriya Sule asserted.

When asked about the merger of the two NCPs, she said, “Both the NCPs fought municipal corporation, Zilla Parishad and panchayat samiti elections together. Amol Kolhe was going to be made the Maharashtra state president of the merged NCP”.

After media persons asked her if the merger of the two NCPs got derailed because of senior Ajit Pawar-led NCP leaders Sunil Tatkare and Praful Patel, Supriya she said, “Ramkrishna Hari (a colloquial Marathi expression for the truth). Since Amol Kolhe has spoken in detail about this, I don’t feel like talking about anything else. My brother Ajit Dada is gone. So what difference does it make now what is true or false. Everyone knows,” Supriya Sule said.

In a related development, Jay Pawar, the younger son of late Deputy CM Ajit Pawar stated in a social media post which has gone viral on Thursday, that aircraft black boxes cannot get burnt as claimed recently by the Aircraft Accident Investigation Bureau (AAIB) and demanded a ban on the Delhi-based VSR Ventures Private Ltd which operated the ill-fated Learjet 45XR aircraft in which his late father flew on January 28.

“Black boxes are not easily destroyed in a plane crash. The people of Maharashtra have the right to know the complete, transparent and undisputed truth of this heart-wrenching tragedy. VSR should be banned from flying immediately, and a thorough and fair investigation into possible serious malpractices in the maintenance of their aircraft should be conducted. A detailed investigation of possible serious lapses and irregularities of the aircraft firm should be done in a detailed and impartial manner. Miss you Dad,” Ajit Pawar’s younger son Jay Pawar posted on his Instagram account.

Significantly, Jay Pawar’s Instagram post came a day after his mother and Deputy CM Sunetra Pawar Ajit Pawar-led NCP leaders met Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and demanded a CBI probe into the plane crash on Wednesday.