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Correspondent

23 August 2024 at 4:29:04 pm

Federal Farce

India’s federal compact was never meant to resemble street theatre. Yet that is precisely what unfolded in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where opening sessions of the Assemblies degenerated into petty skirmishes between Raj Bhavans and elected governments. Governors deserve scrutiny for overreach. But what played out on January 20 says as much about the studied belligerence of two state governments that have turned constitutional convention into a contact sport. Start with Tamil Nadu. Governor R.N....

Federal Farce

India’s federal compact was never meant to resemble street theatre. Yet that is precisely what unfolded in Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where opening sessions of the Assemblies degenerated into petty skirmishes between Raj Bhavans and elected governments. Governors deserve scrutiny for overreach. But what played out on January 20 says as much about the studied belligerence of two state governments that have turned constitutional convention into a contact sport. Start with Tamil Nadu. Governor R.N. Ravi’s decision to walk out of the Assembly without delivering his address was dramatic, ill-judged and constitutionally questionable. But the stage for that walkout was carefully set by the ruling DMK. The Speaker’s insistence that the Governor read only what the Cabinet had approved, delivered with the pugnacious aside that “only MLAs can express opinion in the House,” reflected not reverence for convention but contempt for dialogue. Tamil Nadu’s government treated it as an opportunity to box the Governor into a corner and then feign outrage when he refused to play along. The subsequent statements from Raj Bhavan, disputing the state’s extravagant investment claims and invoking disrespect to the national anthem, only deepened the ugliness. But it is worth asking why such disputes routinely explode in Tamil Nadu. The answer lies less in New Delhi’s alleged conspiracies than in Chennai’s habit of governing by provocation. The DMK has discovered that permanent confrontation with the Governor serves its political narrative as it keeps the Centre in the dock. Kerala’s episode was no less revealing. Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar delivered his address and left, only for Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan to return to the House to announce solemnly that the Governor had tampered with Cabinet-approved paragraphs. The offending omissions concerned fiscal federalism and pending Bills, subjects dear to the Left Democratic Front’s sense of grievance. Vijayan’s declaration that the Cabinet’s version would prevail was less a constitutional clarification than a performative assertion of supremacy. Governors are not meant to rewrite policy. But nor are Assemblies meant to retroactively overrule a Governor’s address by executive fiat. Kerala’s government could have placed its objections on record or sought judicial clarity. Instead, it chose to dramatize the dispute, turning the Assembly into a forum for moral grandstanding. Together, these episodes expose a deeper malaise. State governments, particularly those ruled by parties opposed to the BJP, have begun to treat Governors not as constitutional functionaries to be constrained by process, but as political foils to be publicly humiliated. The irony is rich. Tamil Nadu and Kerala style themselves as guardians of constitutional morality, federalism and democratic norms. Yet, by weaponizing Assembly proceedings against Governors, they weaken the very conventions they claim to defend. None of this absolves Governors who stray into partisan commentary or obstructionism. India has no shortage of such examples. But federalism cannot be sustained if elected governments respond to irritation with institutional vandalism. Assemblies are not arenas for settling scores with Raj Bhavans.

Plane crashes two min after take-off

  • PTI
  • Jun 12, 2025
  • 3 min read

Authorities say chances of survivors slim. Former Gujarat CM Vijay Rupani among the passengers

Ahmedabad: An Ahmedabad-London Air India plane carrying 242 passengers and crew crashed into a medical college complex here minutes after takeoff on Thursday, possibly killing all on board in one of the country's worst air tragedies.


There was no official count of those killed even hours after the Boeing 787 Dreamliner (AI171) crashed in the city civil hospital and BJ Medical College near the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport and burst into a ball of fire.


As rescuers struggled to find survivors in the charred wreckage and pull out the injured, many of them with grievous burns, officials tried to assess the human magnitude of the disaster. Unofficial reports said chances of survival of those on board were remote and up to 25 people in the medical complex could also have died.


The pilot of the twin-engine wide bodied aircraft issued a 'Mayday' distress call, denoting a full emergency, soon after takeoff at 1.39 pm, the Air Traffic Control at Ahmedabad said.


The search was also on for the aircraft's black box -- the flight data recorder and cockpit voice recorder -- for clues to understand what happened in the last crucial moments.


The 11-year-old aircraft could be seen from miles away, losing altitude rapidly and combusting in a fiery blaze that sent plumes of thick black smoke spiralling up in the air.


The aircraft climbed just about 600-800 feet before plummeting to the ground almost immediately, aviation sources said.


Former Gujarat chief minister and BJP leader Vijay Rupani was among the passengers on the doomed flight to London's Gatwick airport.


“The aircraft departed from Ahmedabad at 1339 IST (0809 UTC) from Runway 23. It gave a MAYDAY Call to ATC, but thereafter no response was given by the aircraft to the calls made by ATC,” according to a statement from the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).


Visuals from the wreckage area showed bodies being pulled out and the injured, many with burns, wheeled into the city civil hospital close by.


Intense blaze

Eyewitnesses in Ahmedabad said the blaze was so intense that it led to several multi-storey buildings being burnt, trees singed and cars damaged. One image showed the snout of the plane crashing through the top floor of a building that appeared to be a dining area of the hostel of nurses and doctors.


Elsewhere too, there were scenes of complete devastation with mangled metal of the wreckage, snarls of tangled wire and smoke rising from burning embers.


Airport operations in Ahmedabad were temporarily suspended and resumed towards the evening.


The shock of the disaster echoed through political corridors in India and abroad with heads of states and others offering their condolences.


The incident

The ill-fated flight was under the command of Capt Sumeet Sabharwal along with First Officer Clive Kundar. While Sabharwal has 8,200 hours of flying experience, Kundar 1,100 hours, the DGCA said in a statement.


Immediately after departure from Runway 23, the aircraft fell on the ground outside the airport perimeter, it said.


“On Jun 12, 2025, Air India B787 Aircraft VT-ANB while operating flight AI-171 from (Ahmedabad to Gatwick) has crashed immediately after takeoff from Ahmedabad," the statement said, adding that they were 242 persons on board, including two pilots and 10 cabin crew.


Several eyewitnesses on the busy, everyday afternoon described the horror of what they had seen.


“The plane was flying very low and it crashed into the residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff of civil hospital and BJ Medical college,” Haresh Shah told PTI.


“There are several five floor buildings which are residential quarters of doctors and nursing staff. Many people in those apartments were injured as along with the plane the buildings also caught fire,” he said.


Another said several cars and vehicles parked in the premises also caught fire.


Aircraft maker Boeing said in a statement that it is in contact with Air India and stands ready to offer any support to the Tata-owned airline.


Thursday's tragedy is the second major air disaster in Gujarat's principal city.

On October 19, 1988, an Indian Airlines plane crashed in its final approach to the Ahmedabad airport, killing 130 people.


First Boeing crash

This is the first crash involving the Boeing Dreamliner, feted for its advanced features. It is also India's second biggest air disaster since 2020 when an Air India Express flight skidded off a wet runway while landing at Kozhikode in Kerala and split into two. Of the 190 people on board, 21, including two pilots, lost their lives.


242 – Passengers and crew on the ill-fated plane

25 – No of feared casualties at hostel complex where the plane crashed

230 passengers: 169 Indians, 53 British, 7 Portuguese, 1 Canadian.

2 pilots, 10 crew members

600-800 – Feet of height the aircraft climbed before plummeting to the ground almost immediately

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