On Wednesday, senior Congressman Jairam Ramesh accused private airline IndiGo of violating the Model Code of Conduct. He said that an announcement on two of the airline’s flights praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for “something routine” and then quickly moved into an appeal for passengers to cast ballots in the upcoming State elections.
He pointed out that there was no mention of the Election Commission in the vote appeal announcement, which, he said, was a “clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct”.
In a post on X, Mr. Ramesh said, “Last week, I took flights to Aizawl and back to Delhi on Indigo. Both ways there was an announcement by the cabin crew that hailed the Prime Minister ‘Shri Narendra Modiji’ for something routine and inconsequential.”
“One of these announcements immediately segued into a vote appeal asking passengers to vote during upcoming state elections. Note that there was no mention of Election Commission in this announcement — a clear violation of the Model Code of Conduct,” the Congress general secretary in-charge communications alleged.
Mr. Ramesh said on X, “I took flights on Indigo last week to Aizawl and back to Delhi. The cabin staff made an announcement hailing Prime Minister “Shri Narendra Modiji” for something ordinary and unimportant in both cases.”
The airline did not respond to his accusations right away. “Prime Ministers have never gone to greater pains to maintain their public profile in order to support their own shaky reputations, particularly in the lead-up to significant elections. Mr. Ramesh stated, “It is obvious that the man’s fears know no bounds, nor can the Civil Aviation Minister’s acquiescence or the airline’s lack of courage.”
He expressed gratitude that the aircraft he travelled on Wednesday to Raipur, operated by a different carrier, did not descend to the same degree. “Good to see that some corporates are still resisting pressure from the Modi government and are following fair practises,” Ramesh stated. Results of the elections in the five states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Mizoram will be announced on December 3. The Model Code of Conduct has been in effect since October 9, when the polls were announced.
