Prez polls: Cong tribal leaders oppose Sangma's candidature

May 23, 2012

New Delhi, May 23: Congress tribal leaders led by former Chhatisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi today opposed the candidature of P A Sangma for presidential election, saying the NCP leader is ''playing into the hands of communal forces''.

Asked who are these communal forces, the former Chhatisgarh Chief Minister told reporters, "BJP and its allies are representing communal forces."

Sangma has sought support from various political parties for his Presidential bid.

"One should not declare himself as a presidential candidate. It is such a high office. It has never been demanded by any individual. Country chooses...electoral colleges decide it. But Sangma has claimed it as tribal leader which is wrong," Congress tribal leader said.

Asked whether he is against the tribal candidate, he said, "We are not against any candidate. UPA has not decided on it as discussions are going on."

He further said, "Either there should be consensus on deciding the candidature or whoever has majority will decide."

Asked about his stand on supporting a tribal candidate for presidency, Jogi said the party has not decided yet. "If party decides for a tribal candidate we will definitely support it."

To question whether he himself would like to be a presidential candidate as a tribal leader, Jogi said, "No way."

Asked whether Congress has decided to oppose Sangma, he said, "Party has not decided yet. It is our view."

Recalling earlier presidential elections, Jogi said, "Once a tribal leader from Meghalaya GG Swell was the candidate and then Sangma had opposed him. Now he is seeking support in the name of tribal."

Jharkhand Rajya Sabha MP Pradeep Balmuchu said, "Sangma belongs to NCP and his party is also not supporting him on the issue."

Minister of State for Water Resources Vincent Pala, Manipur MP Rishang Keising and Arunachal MP Ninong Erring are among other tribal leaders who were present on the occasion.

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Chaos continues as IndiGo cancels more flights including 73 from Bengaluru airport

News Network

December 4,2025

Domestic carrier IndiGo has cancelled over 180 flights from three major airports — Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru — on Thursday, December 4, as the airline struggles to secure the required crew to operate its flights in the wake of new flight-duty and rest-period norms for pilots.

While the number of cancellations at Mumbai airport stands at 86 (41 arrivals and 45 departures) for the day, at Bengaluru, 73 flights have been cancelled, including 41 arrivals, according to a PTI report that quoted sources.

"IndiGo cancelled over 180 flights on Thursday at three airports-Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru," the source told the news agency.

Besides, it had cancelled as many as 33 flights at Delhi airport for Thursday, the source said, adding, "The number of cancellations is expected to be higher by the end of the day."

The Gurugram-based airline's On-Time Performance (OTP) nosedived to 19.7 per cent at six key airports — Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad — on December 3, as it struggled to get the required crew to operate its services, down from almost half of December 2, when it was 35 per cent.

"IndiGo has been facing acute crew shortage since the implementation of the second phase of the FDTL (Flight Duty Time Limitations) norms, leading to cancellations and huge delays in its operations across the airports," a source had told PTI on Wednesday.

Chaos continued at several major airports for the third day on Thursday because of the cancellations.

A spokesperson for the Kempegowda International Airport (KIA) in Bengaluru said that 73 IndiGo flights had been cancelled on Thursday.

At least 150 flights were cancelled and dozens of others delayed on Wednesday, airport sources said, leaving thousands of travellers stranded, according to news agency Reuters.

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has said it is investigating IndiGo flight disruptions and has asked the airline to submit the reasons for the current situation, as well as its plans to reduce flight cancellations and delays.

It may be mentioned here that the pilots' body, Federation of Indian Pilots (FIP), has alleged that IndiGo, despite getting a two-year preparatory window before the full implementation of new flight duty and rest period norms for cockpit crew, "inexplicably" adopted a "hiring freeze".

The FIP said it has urged the safety regulator, the DGCA, not to approve airlines' seasonal flight schedules unless they have adequate staff to operate their services "safely and reliably" in accordance with the New Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms.

In a letter to the DGCA late on Wednesday, the FIP urged the DGCA to consider re-evaluating and reallocating slots to other airlines, which have the capacity to operate them without disruption during the peak holiday and fog season if IndiGo continues to "fail in delivering on its commitments to passengers due to its own avoidable staffing shortages."

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