Lucknow: Rahul Gandhi today sought to
stave off a controversy that he had forced the pilot to land
his helicopter in poor visibility conditions in Sitapur last
evening and virtually snubbed Uttar Pradesh Congress President
Rita Bahuguna Joshi who triggered it even as DGCA decided to probe the matter.
"I am a pilot and I am absolutely aware of the dangers
of flying in low visibility conditions. I will be the last
person to do it," he told a press conference, dismissing
Joshi's remarks that he had forced the pilot to land in bad
conditions. Joshi was seated by his side.
"The PCC President is not a pilot. She is not an
expert on weather condition. I have not put any pressure on
the pilot. The pilot called me aside this morning and told me
that the media was creating a controversy and putting my job
in trouble. He has not broken any rule. You are making a story
and destroying their career. This is not fair," he said.
Joshi had earlier said that Gandhi forced the pilot to
land the chopper because he was not ready to do it.
"We had to leave in 15 minutes because it was so dark.
Putting our life in danger, we landed the helicopter in zero
visibility in Sitapur. The pilot was not ready to land but
Rahul Gandhi was forced him to land. You should see his
commitment", she had told reporters last night.
Meanwhile, Sitapur district administration said the
helicopter had landed after sunset when the visibility was
"poor". Official sources told PTI that the statements of the
two pilots of the helicopter and the district magistrate of
Sitapur would be recorded in a couple of days.
-PTI
First Published: Wednesday, December 09, 2009, 00:01