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IAF keeps Vajpayee air borne

Senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Atal Behari Vajpayee says his party will demand an inquiry and lodge a protest before the Election Commission against the Indian Air Force decision not to allow his helicopter to land at Pathankot air base on Sunday evening.

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal was accompanying Vajpayee in the helicopter when it was denied permission to land at Pathankot where the BJP leader was scheduled to address an election meeting in support of Gurdaspur candidate Vinod Khanna.

The ground control did not grant permission on the claim that landing clearance had not been intimated to the Pathankot base by the IAF headquarters at New Delhi.

Vajpayee said it was strange that the officers at the Pathankot base had not been intimated about his arrival and said he would demand an enquiry to establish the truth.

He said the requisite permission had been given by the IAF headquarters. Before taking off from the Raja Sansi airport in Amritsar, the chopper pilot had sought permission from Pathankot ground control and was cleared for landing there.

However, on reaching Pathankot, the Beachcraft plane, on which members of the Special Protection Group were travelling, was granted landing permission, but the chopper was not allowed to touch down.

Confirming the incident, SPG Inspector General of Police J P Birdi, who was in the Beachcraft, said the security team arrived at Pathankot a few minutes before Vajpayee to coordinate the arrangements. He said the IAF officials at Pathankot claimed that the chopper's flying code had not been intimated to them.

A piquant situation arose when the BJP leader's chopper headed back for Amritsar airport and the SPG officers were denied permission by IAF officials to take off from Pathankot. After a great deal of persuasion by Birdi and his SPG team, the Beachcraft was finally allowed to take off for Amritsar.

Vajpayee said if the officials at Pathankot had intimated the chopper pilot in advance, he would have travelled to Pathankot by road.

Local police officials were surprised when Vajpayee and Badal, both high in the security category, landed at Amritsar without their SPG and police escorts, and hurriedly made security arrangements.

While Vajpayee stayed back in Amritsar, Badal left by road for Pathankot to address Khanna's rally.

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