New Delhi: Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh accused private airline IndiGo on Wednesday 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" before immediately switching to an appeal for passengers to cast votes in the upcoming state elections.
Ramesh 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, 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.
There was no immediate response from the airline to Ramesh's claims.
"Never before has any prime minister gone to these lengths to stay in the public eye to shore up his own flailing image, especially in the run-up to crucial elections. Clearly, there is no limit to the man's insecurities, the civil aviation minister's sycophancy and the spinelessness of the airline concerned," Ramesh said.
Small mercies, he said, that the flight he took on Wednesday to Raipur of another airline did not stoop to the same level.
"Good to see that some corporates are still resisting pressure from the Modi government and are following fair practices," Ramesh said.
Elections are taking place in five states -- Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and Mizoram -- and their results will be declared on December 3.
The Model Code of Conduct has been in place since the announcement of polls on October 9.
With PTI inputs