PM Modi's aircraft hit by technical snag at Jharkhand's Deoghar airport, plane grounded

Prime Minister Narendra Modi encountered a technical snag at Deoghar airport in the Indian state of Jharkhand on Friday (Nov 15) afternoon. This led to a delay in PM Modi's return to New Delhi. 

The aircraft will now have to remain at the city airport until the technical issue is fixed. 

The plane was grounded for safety measures. Meanwhile, technical teams worked to identify and resolve the issue. 

This took place after PM Modi concluded his events in the poll-bound state and arrived at the Deoghar airport to return to the capital. 

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During his visit to Jharkhand, Modi addressed two rallies on the occasion of tribal icon Birsa Munda's anniversary, which is celebrated as Janjatiya Gaurav Diwas. 

These events came just days ahead of the second phase of polling for the Jharkhand Assembly Elections, which are scheduled for November 20. 

In a separate issue, the chopper of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who was also in Jharkhand, was grounded for nearly two hours due to a lack of clearance from the Air Traffic Control (ATC). 

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The incident happened in Mahagama, where the Congress leader was scheduled to address a public rally. Later after two hours, Rahul’s chopper was given clearance to take off. 

However, the Congress claimed it was a "deliberate obstruction" by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), further alleging that the delay was politically motivated. 

According to reports, Rahul Gandhi's helicopter clearance was delayed due to PM Modi's poll rally in Bihar's Jamui. 

"The country’s top opposition leader has been kept waiting in the chopper for over an hour. They are not granting him permission to leave. I don’t understand why the BJP is doing this," Jharkhand Minister and Congress leader Dipika Pandey Singh said.

(With inputs from agencies)