Is Mamata Banerjee’s life in danger?

The IndiGo flight that Mamata Banerjee was travelling in, from Patna to Kolkata was short of fuel, but was made to circle the airport for nearly 30 minutes as it waited for clearance to land. When it touched down, the West Bengal Chief Minister’s plane was surrounded by fire engines and ambulances, standard protocol for emergencies.

Ms Banerjee’s flight was at the back of a row of planes waiting to land, said sources due to congestion and made to wait in mid air for half hour hovering above the Kolkata airport.

Her party TMC says that as the Chief Minister was on the IndiGo flight, it should have been prioritized and allowed to land immediately. The emergency situation could have been thus averted.

Mamata Banerjee and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal have been campaigning most vocally against the Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s sudden withdrawal of 500-and 1,000-rupee notes. In addition to Delhi, she has held rallies against the demonetisation reform in Lucknow, Patna and has taken the cudgels for the poor who are taking the brunt of demonetisation.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said an inquiry has been ordered to find out why three planes, including Ms Banerjee’s, did not have as much fuel as required to be able to withstand a delay in landing.

“Is there more to this than meets the eye? There is a school of thought that this is a conspiracy,” Derek O’Brien, TMC minister said in the Rajya Sabha. “The plane was about to crash… we want to bring to notice that life of Mamata Banerjee is in danger,” said Sudip Bandyopadhyay from Trinamool Congress.