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“It was by the grace of God (that I have reached here safely),” the minister said at the AMRI when asked by reporters why he was not travelling in a government car.
It all began when the minister, who was supposed to inaugurate a bio-energy centre at IIT Kharagpur, arrived at Kolkata airport at 9 am and boarded a helicopter to fly to Kharagpur. But since there was dense fog, the pilot came back to Dum Dum airport a few minutes after taking off. About an hour later, they again tried but this time too, the chopper could not take off because of fog. Around 1 pm, the minister was advised by deputy director of IIT Kharagpur, who went to receive the minister, to come to IIT Centre, Salt Lake, and address the students through a video conference. Abdullah agreed and said he would also like to visit Basu.
According to the official version, Abdullah came out along with his own securitymen and even though an ASI of Airport Police Station, Joydev Mandal, requested the minister to avail of the official car there, the minister allegedly refused and took a taxi to reach the IIT Centre. The police, meanwhile, launched a frantic search for the minister only to discover he was at the IIT Centre. Sources, however, said since the minister was supposed to fly to Kharagpur, there was no official car stationed there and that is why he took a taxi to reach the place at Salt Lake. “What do you do if a VVIP chooses not to take government car? We cannot force him,” Home Secretary Ardhendu Sen said.
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