"MHA spreading confusion": Rajasthan CM lock horns with Centre over air travel curb for G20 dinner

New Delhi  [India], September 9 : Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Saturday accused the Home Ministry of spreading confusion among the public by sharing wrong information hours after saying that he would not attend the G20 special dinner hosted by President Droupadi Murmu.
CM Ashok Gehlot claimed that the approval for his helicopter was denied by the Ministry of Home Affairs.
"I did not want to create any controversy in the name of G-20, hence did not condemn it and only informed the public about the facts. But now I am sad that the Home Ministry has made an unsuccessful attempt to spread confusion among the public by giving wrong information," CM Gehlot posted in Hindi on the microblogging site, X, previously known as Twitter.
As per Gehlot, an email seeking permission for a helicopter was sent off to MHA at 10:48 am on Friday but permission did not come till 2:50 pm.
"To give information to the public, I tweeted at 2:52 pm and explained the reason for not being able to come. Following this, the permission came at 3:58 pm by the time I had left from Udaipur to Jaipur by plane, from there I left for Nowai by road," CM Gehlot wrote on X.
"Today there was a program to go to Sangliya Peeth, Sikar, as part of the death anniversary program of Baba Shri Khinwadas Ji Maharaj, but due to the G-20 meeting, the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, did not give permission to go to Sikar by helicopter from Udaipur due to which today I am not able to reach Sangliya Peeth," Gehlot said on X on Friday.
Responding to the reason given by the Rajasthan CM for not attending the G20 dinner, MHA said that no request from the Rajasthan CM has been denied.
"In a news report, the Rajasthan Chief Minister has claimed denial of approval for his helicopter flight by the MHA. Four requests were received from CM Rajasthan for flight permissions, including for Sikar, and all were approved by the MHA”, the MHA posted on X.
"No request from CM Rajasthan has been denied. While all scheduled flights of commercial aircraft and the movement of Governors and State Chief Ministers on their State aircraft are allowed, private chartered flights require specific MHA approval," it added.
Gehlot's absence from the G20 dinner came amid Congress' displeasure over not inviting the Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha and Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge to the G20 state dinner.
A big-ticket event featuring world leaders, including US President Joe Biden and UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, as well as delegates of leading international organisations, the G20 summit will be hosted at the state-of-the-art Bharat Mandapam in Delhi's Pragati Maidan on September 9 and 10.
Former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and HD Deve Gowda are among the invitees to the G20 dinner.
However, Deve Gowda informed that he won't be able to attend the dinner, hosted by President Droupadi Murmu, due to health reasons.
A total of 170 guests are on the list of special invitees to the G20 dinner hosted by President Draupadi Murmu in the national capital.
Apart from foreign leaders and heads of delegation, Chief ministers of all the states, cabinet and state ministers, secretaries in the Central government, and other distinguished guests have been invited to the gala dinner that will be held at the multi-function hall of the Bharat Mandapam on Saturday (September 9).
Apart from the event's host, President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar with his wife Sudesh Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, former President Ram Nath Kovind, and former Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu will join the dinner party.