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Correspondent

21 August 2024 at 3:50:16 pm

Static Warfare

Maharashtra’s politics has long resembled a murky theatrical production, but its latest act has descended into farce. A purported audio recording released by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, allegedly discussing a staggering Rs. 500-crore payment routed to him through Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has plunged the ruling Mahayuti into fresh turmoil. While the recording’s authenticity remains unverified, the political fallout has...

Static Warfare

Maharashtra’s politics has long resembled a murky theatrical production, but its latest act has descended into farce. A purported audio recording released by Maratha reservation activist Manoj Jarange-Patil, allegedly discussing a staggering Rs. 500-crore payment routed to him through Shiv Sena MP Shrikant Shinde, son of Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, has plunged the ruling Mahayuti into fresh turmoil. While the recording’s authenticity remains unverified, the political fallout has already exposed the fissures beneath the coalition’s carefully cultivated façade of unity. The first imperative is to establish the facts. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has ordered a forensic examination of the recording, including the identities of the speakers and the circumstances in which it was made. The investigation must go beyond determining whether the audio has been manipulated. Its provenance, completeness, context and circulation must also be established. The allegations are extraordinary. Jarange claims that the purported conversation points to efforts to blunt his influence ahead of the 2024 Assembly elections, when his agitation for Maratha reservation had become a significant political force. The recording allegedly refers to Rs. 500 crore being delivered through Shrikant Shinde. Both Eknath Shinde and his son have rejected the allegations, with the latter responding sarcastically that the money never reached him. Jarange, for his part, has denied receiving the sum and demanded an investigation. The recording has surfaced nearly two years after the alleged conversation, reportedly dating to October 2024. Fadnavis has himself questioned why it has emerged now and who stands to benefit. The allegations have become a test of trust within the Mahayuti itself. The BJP and the Shinde-led Shiv Sena remain partners in government, but their relationship is hardly free of friction. Shinde’s transition from chief minister to deputy chief minister after the 2024 Assembly election underscored the BJP’s ascendancy within the alliance. The latest controversy has revived questions about whether competing ambitions and suspicions are undermining the partnership. The danger lies in the ease with which political intrigue can displace governance. An allegation involving Rs. 500 crore is not a routine exchange of partisan accusations. If substantiated, it would raise grave questions about the use of money to influence a social movement and electoral outcomes. The Maratha reservation agitation has had profound consequences for Maharashtra’s social equilibrium. To reduce such a movement to an instrument of electoral management, if that is what occurred, would be a serious indictment of the political establishment. There is a further question that Maharashtra’s political class must confront: why does every major public controversy so quickly become a contest over factional survival? The state’s politics has grown increasingly transactional, shaped by shifting loyalties and the compulsions of coalition management. The government must therefore ensure that the inquiry is independent in substance, not merely forensic in name.

Trainer plane hard-lands near Baramati

Quaid Najmi
May 14
3 min read

Mumbai: In a shocker, a small trainer aircraft belonging to a private aviation company hard-landed near the Baramati Airfield on Wednesday, sparking fresh concerns over aviation safety in a region that has been witness to several aircraft-related incidents in the past few months.


The two-seater, single-engine aircraft belongs to Redbird Flight Training Academy (RFTA) and it crash-landed near the Baramati Airfield this morning around 8.50 am.


There are no casualties reported in the incident though the Italian-made plane is reported to have suffered minor damage.


Confirming the mishap, Pune (Rural) Superintendent of Police Sandeep Singh Gill told mediapersons that the plane crash landed near Gojubavi village, adjacent to the Baramati Airfield.


In a terse statement later, the RFTA said: “This is to inform that our aircraft, a Tecnam P2008JC bearing registration VT-RFY, was involved in an incident at Gojubavi in the vicinity of Baramati Airport. As per the preliminary information received, the aircraft was undertaking a solo flight at the time of the occurrence. The cadet pilot is reported to be safe,” it said.


When contacted in New Delhi, a senior RFTA official, Dr. Ritu Grover, told The Perfect Voice that they had no further information on the accident including the identity of the trainee pilot.


According to initial information, the aircraft developed a technical glitch while cruising at a low altitude while on a routine practice flight, forcing the trainee pilot to attempt an emergency landing but it hard-landed.


“During the crash landing, a part of the aircraft grazed an electric light pole before it came down on the ground. Only one trainee pilot was on board the aircraft and fortunately, no serious injuries were reported in the incident,” Gill said.


Upon receiving information from the locals, a police team rushed to the accident spot and cordoned off the site. The injured trainee pilot was taken for treatment while local aviation officials launched a probe into the incident.


The police said that further details would be released after a technical assessment of the aircraft and ascertaining the causes leading to the disaster.


Incidentally, this is believed to be the third mishap involving the Tecnam aircraft including in 2021 and 2023 in different places.


The RFTA is one of the two major pilot training institutes operating from the Baramati aviation hub. The region has emerged as a centre for aviation training, with institutes like RFTA and the Carver Aviation conducting regular training sorties from the airfield.


Today’s incident brought focus on the safety record of aviation training operations in Baramati, particularly around Gojubavi village, where multiple aircraft mishaps have been reported in recent years.


The latest crash comes barely four months after the January 28 Learjet crash near here that had sent shockwaves across the state and national political circles. The mishap had claimed the life of then Maharashtra deputy chief minister and ex-Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) chief Ajit A. Pawar along with four others, making it one of the deadliest aviation incidents in the region in recent memory.


Locals recall that similar trainer aircraft disasters involving RRFTA planes had occurred in the vicinity in the past, raising concerns over recurring technical failures and emergency landings dangerously close to populated areas.


The aviation authorities are likely to examine whether mechanical failure, pilot error, or operational lapses led to today’s hard-landing at Baramati Airfield.


Hazardous Airfield
A preliminary probe report by the AAIB into the Learjet 45XR – owned by VSR Ventures Ltd – that crashed on Jan. 28 killing Ajit Pawar and others, had made certain stinging observations on the facilities at Baramati Airfield, managed and maintained by the Maharashtra Airport Development Co. Ltd.

Besides the two private aviation training academies, it regularly handles non-scheduled operations, including Chartered/VIP flights. In a shocker, it also stated how the two ATC towers there are manned flying instructors or students, including training flights and VVIP operations.

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