Rohit Pawar Seeks Ram Mohan Naidu's Removal from Post Till Crash Probe Ends
The legislator, who is the nephew of the late NCP leader Ajit Pawar, also claimed that the VSR company, whose Learjet plane carrying his uncle crashed in Pune's Baramati town last month, was being protected
Mumbai: Continuing his barrage of allegations, NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar on Wednesday demanded the resignation of Union Civil Aviation Minister K Ram Mohan Naidu and an independent probe into the plane crash that killed his uncle and Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar.
While Rohit said he was not directly accusing the union minister, he alleged that the close links between the minister and VSR, whose Learjet plane carrying his uncle crashed in Baramati, raise serious concerns about the transparency of the ongoing investigation.
Naidu and his party (Telugu Desam Party) are close to the Delhi-based VSR company owners and hence the company was being protected, he alleged.
“Naidu should not continue as civil aviation minister on moral grounds. There is not even a preliminary probe report yet and there is reason to believe that efforts are being made to save the VSR company,” the NCP (SP) leader added.
“Some former ministers from Maharashtra and top TDP ministers from Andhra Pradesh attended the marriage of Rohit Singh, son of the VSR owner V.K. Singh. The company is allowed to operate and top politicians are still using the Learjet planes of the company,” he claimed.
The Karjat-Jamkhed MLA questioned the circumstances under which the flight took off from Mumbai. Reports have claimed the plane’s fuel tank was full. He claimed there was no operational necessity to carry excess fuel and alleged that refuelling could have been undertaken en route.
Rohit also raised doubts about why the flight operated despite poor visibility, arguing that under such conditions, there was “no need to fly in the first place.” He claimed that alternate landing options were limited and suggested the aircraft could have returned to Mumbai instead of proceeding.
Pawar also cast doubt on the reports about potential damage to the aircraft’s black box, saying flight recorders are designed to withstand extreme temperatures and pressure. He also said the aircraft’s purchase price was around Rs 35 crore, its current value significantly lower, but its liability insurance was Rs 210 crore.
Rohit implied that those who did not want a merger of NCP factions may be behind the shocking plane crash that claimed his uncle’s life. “If this is an assassination, there are two possibilities. We (the NCP) would either go with the NDA due to the merger or Ajit Dada would have to give up power. The second possibility would have upset the political calculations of a certain group. So, perhaps such a group could be behind this since they did not want any NCP merger,” he said.
