Hyderabad: Telugu Chief Ministers K. Chandrasekhar Rao and Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy could not attend the swearing-in of Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday as the Delhi airspace was closed as a security measure when they were getting ready to fly in.
The Director General of Civil Aviation barred aircraft movements between 3 pm and 11 pm citing security reasons, making it impossible for the CMs to land in Delhi. Mr Reddy had been sworn-in only at 12.23 pm. Mr Rao was a guest at the ceremony.
According to reports, both Chief Ministers were to fly to New Delhi after the ceremony at about 2 pm; Mr Modi’s swearing in ceremony was scheduled for 7 pm. Governor E.S.L. Narasimhan, after administering the oath of office and secrecy to Mr Reddy, left for New Delhi.
After a slight delay, the two CMs, who had their lunch at Mr Reddy’s house at Tadepalli, were ready to leave for Delhi in a special aircraft when they were informed by the general administrative department of the two states that they were not getting clearance for the aircraft to land in Delhi.
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) had issued restrictions on the landing of special flights in New Delhi due to the large number of VIP flights coming from abroad. This order prevented them from attending the PM’s swearing-in. On Wednesday, Mr Rao’s office had issued his itinerary in New Delhi.
Mr S.M.D. Iqbal, retired IG and former security officer, said the coordination between the state government and New Delhi in connection with the Chief Minister’s travel is done by the general administrative department and the civil aviation department.
“Once the Special Protection Force takes over, no one can violate the orders. In this case, the SPG sensing a threat perception must have informed the civil aviation department which led them to stop the landing of special aircraft.”
