NEW DELHI, July 4: A few black balloons were spotted near Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s chopper as it took off from Vijaywada airport in Andhra Pradesh on Monday.
Visuals showed the balloons near PM Modi’s helicopter soon after take-off in Vijaywada’s Gannavaram airport but the police denied there was any security scare. The police said two balloons were released 4.5 km away from airport, five minutes after the prime minister left. The balloons were believed to be part of Congress demonstration against Modi.
Some Congress leaders were protesting at the airport from where Modi’s chopper took off. They were seen holding black balloons and placards as they shouted slogans targeting the Prime Minister. Four Congress workers have been caught and one is still missing.
Congress leaders had given a nationwide call to oppose Modi by showing black balloons. The Prime Minister flew from Hyderabad to Vijaywada on a special plane and took a chopper to Bhimavaram. Before the PM’s arrival, at around 8:30 am, three people, Sunkadara Padmashree, Parvathi and Kishore, were seen walking towards the airport with balloons. They were stopped, the police said.
Five minutes Modi took off, two Congress members, Rajeev Ratan and Ravi Prakash, climbed a building under construction and released the balloons. Ravi Prakash has been taken into custody while Rajeev Ratan is missing. The police are on the look-out for him.
(Manas Dasgupta)