It will be Rahul Gandhi versus Narendra Modi in 2014 Lok Sabha polls: Beni Prasad Verma

August 20, 2012

Barabanki, August 20: In comments that can stoke a fresh controversy, Union minister Beni Prasad Verma today said the next Lok Sabha elections will see a direct fight between Rahul Gandhi and Narendra Modi.

A day after he said that the SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was "dreaming" of becoming Prime Minister, Verma today said that parties like Samajwadi Party do not have all India presence and hence cannot form a government at the Centre.

"The government (at the Centre) will either be of Congress or Modi. Why they (SP) are misleading. Does the public not understand all this.... If Rahul Gandhi is our candidate, then the election in 2014 will be Rahul Gandhi versus Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi. No other party is in between," Verma said.

The Union minister, however, steered clear of drawing a parallel between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Rahul Gandhi saying "If Rahul Gandhi will become Prime Minister, he will do so with the blessing of Manmohan Singh".

Verma also hailed the Prime Minister as a "frank" person saying the country will never get such a "gentle" person as Prime Minister. "The whole world considers him an honest persons except the Opposition parties in our country," he said.

Verma said that he always wanted Rahul Gandhi to become the Prime Minister but the decision on when has to be taken by the Congress President and the Prime Minister.

"Who fights for Muslims. It is Congress, which fights for them at the national level. Small insignificant parties have misled them. Congress is concerned about Muslims, Hindus, Christians and all and on the other had there are the traders of votes, who are concerned only about their votes," he said.

Asked to comment on the statement of Samajwadi Party leader Mohan Singh that he should be sacked from the Union Cabinet, Verma said he would not like to react to "small time" leaders who have managed to get a Rajya Sabha membership.

"If he can, let him have me removed from the Cabinet. My ideology will remain the same...I don't take cognizance of seasonal frogs," he said.

Verma, however, refused to comment on Singh's statement that SP would withdraw support if he does not apologize.

He had yesterday alleged that due to interference of Samajwadi party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav in UP government, it could not function properly.

"Due to interference of Mulayam, the state government cannot function properly and he is responsible for this", Verma had said while talking to reporters yesterday. Verma said he would not blame chief minister Akhilesh Yadav, saying he is "like my son". On Mulayam Singh stating that a third front government at the Centre will emerge in 2014 if SP won 60 seats in UP, Beni said that Yadav was dreaming of becoming Prime Minister but it would not happen.

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IndiGo CEO says less than 1,000 cancellations on Dec 6; normalcy by Dec 15

News Network

December 5,2025

New Delhi, Dec 5: IndiGo CEO Pieter Elbers issued a public apology this evening after more than a thousand flights were cancelled today, making it the "most severely impacted day" in terms of cancellations. The biggest airline of the country cancelled "more than half" of its daily number of flights on Friday, said Elbers. He also said that even though the crisis will persist on Saturday, the airline anticipates fewer than 1,000 flight cancellations.

"Full normalisation is expected between December 10 and 15, though IndiGo cautions that recovery will take time due to the scale of operations," the IndiGo CEO said.

IndiGo operates around 2,300 domestic and international flights daily.

Pieter Elbers, while apologising for the major inconvenience due to delays and cancellations, said the situation is a result of various causes.

The crisis at IndiGo stems from new regulations that boost pilots' weekly rest requirements by 12 hours to 48 and allow only two night-time landings per week, down from six. IndiGo has attributed the mass cancellations to "misjudgment and planning gaps".

Elbers also listed three lines of action that the airline will adopt to address the issue.

"Firstly, customer communication and addressing your needs, for this, messages have been sent on social media. And just now, a more detailed communication with information, refunds, cancellations and other customer support measures was sent," he said.

The airline has also stepped up its call centre capacity.

"Secondly, due to yesterday's situation, we had customers stranded mostly at the nation's largest airports. Our focus was for all of them to be able to travel today itself, which will be achieved. For this, we also ask customers whose flights are cancelled not to come to the airports as notifications are sent," the CEO said.

"Thirdly, cancellations were made for today to align our crew and planes to be where they need to start tomorrow morning afresh. Earlier measures of the last few days, regrettable, have proven not to be enough, but we have decided today to reboot all our systems and schedules, resulting in the highest numbers of cancellations so far, but imperative for progressive improvements starting from tomorrow," he added.

As airports witnessed chaotic scenes, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) stepped in to grant IndiGo a temporary exemption from stricter night duty rules for pilots. It also allowed substitution of leaves with a weekly rest period.

Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has said a high-level inquiry will be ordered and accountability will be fixed.

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Indian Air Force’s Tejas fighter jet crashes during Dubai air show

News Network

November 21,2025

An Indian Air Force (IAF) Tejas fighter jet crashed on Friday, November 21, afternoon during its aerial demonstration at the Dubai Air Show, plunging to the ground at around 2:10 pm local time while performing a manoeuvre before thousands of spectators.

The IAF confirmed the incident, stating that a Tejas aircraft participating in the show had crashed and that further details were being gathered. An Air Force spokesperson said more information would be shared after initial assessments.

The crash sent thick black smoke billowing into the sky near the airport, causing panic among visitors, including families and children who had gathered to watch the display. Authorities have not yet confirmed whether the pilot managed to eject before the aircraft went down. Emergency response teams rushed to the scene, and officials have not released information on casualties or damage so far.

The Tejas is a 4.5-generation, multi-role fighter aircraft developed indigenously by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Designed for versatility, it is capable of offensive air support, close combat, ground attack missions and maritime operations. The aircraft family includes single-seat fighters and twin-seat trainers for both the Air Force and Navy.

HAL describes the latest version, the LCA Mk1A, as the most advanced in the series, featuring an AESA radar, an upgraded electronic warfare suite with radar-warning and self-protection jamming, smart multifunction displays, a digital map generator, a combined interrogator–transponder system and a modern radio altimeter. These enhancements significantly improve the aircraft’s combat capability and survivability.

Further updates from IAF and UAE authorities are awaited.

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