Maharashtra delegation misses appointment with PM due to fog

An all-party delegation, led by Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, missed its appointment with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh as none of the members could land in Delhi due to the intense fog.

The appointment was scheduled at 12.30 pm on Friday.

The delegation was scheduled to urge the prime minister that the 12.5 acre Indu mill land belonging to the National Textile Corporation be given to the state government free of cost for constructing a state-of-the-art memorial of Dr B R Ambedkar.

The other demand of the delegation was to declare Belgaum as a union territory till the Maharashtra-Karnataka boundary dispute, which is pending with the Supreme Court, is settled.

A unanimous resolution to this effect on both issues had been passed in the just-concluded winter session of the Maharashtra Legislature in Nagpur.

Sources in the Chief Minister's office said that Chavan had left Mumbai at 8 am by an eight-seater government plane and was slated to land in Delhi at around 10 am. But the plane was diverted to Jaipur due to fog.

"Chavan reached Delhi in the afternoon and has sought an appointment with the PM for tomorrow," they said.

All leaders took different flights to reach Delhi but landing was not possible due to fog. Hence, all flights were diverted to other airports, sources said.

Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, Leader of Opposition in the Legislative Council Vinod Tawde, Social Justice Minister Shivajirao Moghe, MNS leader Bala Nandgaonkar and Forest Minister Patangrao Kadam reached Delhi in the afternoon, they said.