President Ram Nath Kovind's event at Mumbai Raj Bhavan put off after Tamil Nadu chopper crash

President Ram Nath Kovind. File Pic

President Ram Nath Kovind, who is on a visit to Maharashtra, was scheduled to inaugurate the new Darbar Hall at the Raj Bhavan here on Wednesday, but the event was put off in the wake of the crash of an IAF helicopter which had Chief of Defence Staff Gen Bipin Rawat among others onboard in Tamil Nadu.

A Raj Bhavan statement in the evening said the event was put off in the wake of a "sad incident involving an IAF helicopter". The Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter carrying Gen Rawat, his wife and other officers met with an accident earlier in the day near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu.

Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari himself announced that the event was "put off". Koshyari, who was accompanied by Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar on the occasion, did not specify any reason for the same as he made the announcement.

"It is the wish of the Honourable President and ours that this programme be put off…this opportunity (of inaugurating the hall) will come again in the future," Koshyari said. The official statement issued later, however, said, "The Governor has said that the inauguration of the new Darbar Hall at the Raj Bhavan has been put off. The decision has been taken in the wake of the sad incident involving an IAF helicopter."

The statement added, "The hall was to be inaugurated at the hands of President Ram Nath Kovind. The Governor said that the decision of putting off the event was taken after discussion with the President in the wake of the IAF's helicopter serious accident." Kovind is on a four-day visit to Maharashtra since December 6.
Meanwhile, taking to Twitter, Koshyari said, "I am pained on hearing the sad news about the Force's helicopter crash in Tamil Nadu. I wish the well-being of CDS Bipin Rawat ji, his wife and all the other on-board Force personnel."

Gen Rawat was on his way to the Defence Staff College in Wellington when the helicopter accident took place. There was no immediate information on the condition of Gen Rawat.

Also Read: CDS General Bipin Rawat, wife dead in chopper crash: IAF

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