‘Drunk’ Punjab CM Mann deplaned in Frankfurt, claims Akali Dal

The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Monday (September 19) claimed that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann was deplaned from a Lufthansa flight at Frankfurt airport in Germany as “he was too drunk to walk”.

SAD leader Sukhbir Singh Badal said this incident has “embarrassed and shamed Punjabis all over the world”. He also asked the Government of India (GoI) to raise the issue with its German counterpart as it involves “Punjabi and national pride”.

“Disturbing media reports quoting co-passengers say Pb CM @BhagwantMann was deplaned from Lufthansa flight as he was too drunk to walk. And it led to a 4-hour flight delay. He missed AAP’s national convention. These reports have embarrassed & shamed Punjabis all over the globe (sic),” Badal wrote on Twitter.

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He added, “Shockingly, Pb govt is mum over these reports involving their CM @BhagwantMann. @ArvindKejriwal needs to come clean on this issue. Govt of India must step in as this involves Punjabi & national pride. If he was deplaned, GoI must raise the issue with its German counterpart (sic).”

The Congress too claimed Mann was deplaned as he was “heavily drunk”.

“A Big Shame!! Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann deplaned because he was heavily Drunk,” the Delhi Congress tweeted.

Mann was on a trip to Germany from September 11 to 18 to attract investments to the state. He and his delegation held discussions with various companies.

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The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has denied the incident and termed the allegations as “baseless and rubbish”.

AAP’s chief spokesperson Malwinder Singh Kang said that CM Mann returned to New Delhi as per his schedule.

“Chief Minister returned as per his schedule. He took a returning flight on September 18 from Germany. He had to land in New Delhi on the 19th of September. The allegations being levelled by the opposition are baseless, rubbish, and false propaganda,” Kang told India Today.

In a statement, Lufthansa said the flight from Frankfurt to New Delhi couldn’t take off on time due to a delayed inbound flight and an aircraft change. It added that information regarding individual passengers will not be shared due to data protection reasons.

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“Our flight from Frankfurt to Delhi departed later than originally planned due to a delayed inbound flight and an aircraft change. For data protection reasons we do not provide any information regarding individual passengers,” the airline said.