'Ensure level playing field': Congress to EC on Rahul's chopper delay

The Congress on Friday complained to the Election Commission against the alleged grounding of party leader Rahul Gandhi's helicopter in poll-bound Jharkhand and sought its urgent intervention in ensuring a level-playing field in poll campaigning.

The Congress has alleged that Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's chopper was not allowed to take off due to restrictions leading to his public meetings getting either delayed or cancelled.

Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh wrote to the poll panel and asserted that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's poll campaign cannot take precedence over that of others.

"There should be a level-playing field in campaigning. The PM's campaign cannot take precedence over that of all others. Today Rahul Gandhi got delayed in Jharkhand on this account," Ramesh said in a post on X.

In his complaint to the Chief Election Commissioner, the Congress leader sought his urgent intervention, saying a level playing field should be maintained.

He said Gandhi was in Jharkhand for an election rally of the Congress and had secured all the requisite permissions for travelling across the state and attending all the pre-scheduled poll events.

According to the approved schedule and permissions in place, Gandhi and his team were to take off from Godda to fly to other locations across the state at 1.15 pm, he said.

"However, their mode of travel, which was permitted to fly at 1.15 pm IST, has not been allowed to take flight. They have been informed that due to the protocol of other leaders in the vicinity, a no-fly zone restriction had been put in place. In fact, due to the said delay all subsequent programmes of Shri Rahul Gandhi (for which prior permission had been secured) is now either being delayed or cancelled," Ramesh said in his complaint.

"We request your Commission to urgently intervene in this situation and ensure that the level playing field is not disrupted in such a manner.

"If such a situation is allowed to prevail, then the ruling regime and its leaders can always take undue advantage of such protocols and limit the election campaign of opposition leaders," Ramesh said in his complaint.