Sharad Pawar's first reaction on nephew Ajit's death in plane crash: 'It was accident, no politics involved'

Sharad Pawar, the veteran Nationalist Congress Party (NCP-SP) chief, has reacted to the tragic death of his nephew and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar in the Baramati plane crash, describing it as an “accident”, as he sought to quell any speculation around the incident.

Earlier in the day, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee floated a political conspiracy theory behind Ajit Pawar's death. Mamata Banerjee said that just two days ago, there were reports that Ajit was willing to leave the BJP.

“I don't know what is the fate of the opposition political parties but he was very much with the ruling party. But two days ago, I came to know that someone from another party had given a statement that Pawar was willing to leave the BJP. Now this has happened,” she said, demanding a Supreme Court-monitored investigation.

A visibly emotional Sharad Pawar, in a video statement, also appealed that the plane crash, which killed his nephew and four others, should not be politicised. “Ajit Pawar's untimely death is a massive shock to Maharashtra. The state has today lost a capable and decisive leader,” he said. 

Also Read | Ajit Pawar's final moments: Learjet 45 pilot cited poor visibility before landing - ‘then ATC saw flames’

In an apparent snub to Mamata Banerjee, Sharad Pawar said, “A stance was floated from Kolkata that there is some politics involved in this incident. But there is nothing like this. There is no politics involved; it is purely an accident. It has caused immense grief to me and to the entire state of Maharashtra. I appeal to everyone not to politicise this tragedy.”

He said, “Not all things are in our hands.”

Ajit Pawar died today, 28 January, after his chartered plane crashed at Baramati airport during landing. Ajit Pawar had left for Baramati from Mumbai to attend civic election rallies. The plane crash-landed near the runway threshold, killing all five people on board the chartered plane. Among the deceased were his personal security officer, a flight attendant and two pilots.

What Centre said on Baramati plane crash

According to the Civil Aviation Ministry, the pilot had informed the Air Traffic Controller (ATC) about the poor visibility around the runway. The ATC told the investigators that after reporting “no sight of runway”, the pilot later informed the person manning ATC that the runway was in sight.

The aircraft was cleared for landing on runway 11, but the plane, a Learjet 45, “did not give a readback of the landing clearance”.

"They were asked to report runway in sight. They replied “runway is currently not in sight, will call when runway is in sight". After a few seconds, they reported that the runway is in sight. The aircraft was cleared to land on runway 11 at 0843IST; however, they did not give a readback of the landing clearance," it said.