New Delhi: Charanjit Singh Channi, who took oath as the Punjab chief minister early this week, defended the use of a chartered flight by him to travel to Delhi after the Opposition raised the issue. While responding to the queries on his visit to the national capital on a chartered flight on Tuesday, Channi asked reporters, "What is the problem if the son of a poor man boarded a jet?"
However, the CM refused to reply on whether the government will foot the bill, as per the news agency PTI. The newly sworned mininter was in Jalandhar where he was probed about his visit to Delhi by reporters.
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The chief minister, along with his deputies Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, OP Soni and Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu, went to Delhi on a chartered flight on Tuesday to discuss the expansion of the new Punjab cabinet with the party's central leadership.
In his Twitter account, Sidhu had uploaded a photo of him with Channi and Randhawa standing next to the chartered plane. The Congress leaders attracted criticism from the Opposition for their sojourn to Delhi on a chartered flight.
Taking a dig at them, the Shiromani Akali Dal said Congress leaders opt for "private jets for travelling just 250 km to Delhi", while the Aam Aadmi Party said the grand old party has not been able to "give up its royal habits".
Taking a notice of the allegations, Raveen Thukral, media advisor to former Punjab chief minister Amarinder Singh, also jumped into the fray taking potshots at the Congress leaders for travelling to Delhi on a chartered flight.