Mid-air Holi celebrations aboard eight flights have cost no-frill carrier SpiceJet heavily, with the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issuing show cause notice to the airline and suspending two of its pilots.

On Monday, the cabin crew of SpiceJet performed a small dance sequence on a song as part of Holi celebrations, with some passengers also joining in.

The videos of these events were taken and uploaded on video-sharing website YouTube and other social media.

In one video, a pilot is seen coming out of the cockpit and taking photographs of the celebrations at the front of the aisle.

Official sources said the act constituted violation of all safety norms and two pilots were suspended.

The DGCA summoned senior officials of the airline on Tuesday and sought an explanation. As per reports the DGCA had given the airline 15 days to respond to the show cause notice.

Civil aviation watchdog has reportedly threatened to cancel SpiceJet’s license. The airline said it was looking into the issue in cooperation with the DGCA.

The company defended itself saying that the cockpit was manned all the time.

“The cockpit was manned at all time as per DGCA regulations that govern the situation when one pilot is outside for example to use the lavatory,” an airline spokesperson told reporters.

“The dance was professionally choreographed and was Holi delight for passengers much like it is done by several airlines around the world to celebrate a special occasion. The entire dance sequence lasted 2.5 minutes,” the spokesperson said.

SpiceJet on March 17 ran eight special flights with extra cabin crew onboard to do a 2.5-minute jig on the occasion of Holi.

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued fresh summons to DMK chief K Karunanidhi’s wife Dayalu Ammal in connection with its money laundering probe in the 2G spectrum allocation case.

Ammal, 84, has been given an option to present her case through an authorised legal representative, in case she cannot come herself and answer questions of agency sleuths on March 28 here, sources said.

The agency, they said, wants to investigate the role of Ammal with regard to alleged channelling of Rs 200 crore to the DMK family-run Kalaignar TV through a circuitous route in which her daughter Kanimozhi and MD of the TV group Sharad Kumar are also accused.

The DMK supremo’s wife has, however, denied any wrongdoing in this case.

A charge sheet in this case, under provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), is pending at present.

The agency has already questioned Kanimozhi and former Telecom Minister A Raja in this regard.

Both the DMK leaders and others have been questioned by ED about the alleged transfer of Rs. 200 crore to the TV channel, in which Kanimozhi and Sharad Kumar each hold 20 per cent stake.

ED had earlier also scrutinised documents related to the DMK MPs’ incomes, properties and personal investments.

It had also initiated attachment proceedings under PMLA against other individuals and certain telecom firms involved in the case.

Besides the cases of Raja and Kanimozhi, a similar probe is underway under the provisions of the anti-money laundering Act against Asif Balwa, Director of Kusegaon Fruits and Vegetables Pvt Ltd, Rajeev Agarwal and Karim Murani of Cineyug Films (Pvt) Ltd.

After defeating Sheila Dikshit in Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party is confident of repeating its success story in the Lok Sabha elections.

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sanjay Singh on Thursday said party leader Arvind Kejriwal will defeat BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi in the Lok Sabha election in Varanasi by at least one lakh votes.

He also urged Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice president Rahul Gandhi to contest against Modi in Varanasi. Digvijay Singh is not a strong contender against Modi from Varanasi, added Singh.

On Wednesday, a report said Congress leader Digvijay Singh has conveyed his willingness to the party members to take on Modi in Varanasi.

However, there has been no official confirmation from the Congress regarding the issue.

The Congress has declared its resolve to put up a formidable candidate against the BJP’s PM nominee in the Lok Sabha polls and ruled out support to Aam Aadmi Party’s Arvind Kejriwal.

Notably, Kejriwal has already vowed to defeat Modi.

Kejriwal has said that he will hold a rally in Varanasi to decide if people want him to take on Modi, who the BJP has fielded in the Hindu holy town in Uttar Pradesh.

The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief, Mayawati on Thursday said that her party will contest the upcoming Lok Sabha elections on all 80 seats in Uttar Pradesh alone, having no alliance with any major political formation.

The BSP chief, while releasing the list of her party candidates for 80 Lok Sabha seats in Uttar Pradesh, said that her party will attempt to defeat both Congress and the BJP in these polls to ensure a non-BJP, nor Congress government is formed at the Centre.

Addressing a press conference in state capital, the BSP chief said, “We have finalised all candidates for the 80 Lok Sabha in UP. Like in past, my party has ensured ample representation from all communities while distributing Lok Sabha tickets this time also.”

“We have also decided to contest Lok Sabha elections alone, we will put up candidates in all 80 seats in UP, ” Mayawati said.

Elaborating further the Dalit leader said, “This time we have given 15 tickets to people from backward classes, 19 to Muslims, 21 to Brahmins, 8 to Kshatriyas to ensure proper representation from all communities in the ticket distribution process.”

Making a scathing attack on the Congress and the BJP, the BSP leader said, “The people of this country are highly disappointed with the anti-people policies of the UPA government at the Centre. Neither Congress, nor the BJP will form the Government at the Centre this time.”

Mayawati is likely to put her bet on the party’s General Secretary Satish Chandra Mishra to take on BJP’s prime ministerial candidate Naredra Modi in Varanasi.

Stoking controversy, BJP Lok Sabha candidate and one of the MLAs booked in Muzaffarnagar riots cases Hukum Singh on Thursday said he would oppose riot refugees from voting in his constituency Kairana as they were living “illegally” on government land.

Singh said here that he will not allow “so-called” refugees to be enrolled in the voter list of his constituency Kairana in Shamli district as they were living away from their homes and had encroached upon government land by camping.

“Their names have not been removed from the voter list of their native places,” he said, adding, he will not visit any of the riot refugee camps in Kairana for campaign as those staying in them were not voters in the constituency.

More than 7,000 refugees are staying in nine refugee camps in Kairana. These camps are situated in Malakpur, Khurgan, Barnawi, Dabheri, Khurd, Mansoora, Roten, Tisang, Amtikhurd areas of the city.

Singh also reacted sharply to the comment made by former Chief Justice Rajinder Sachar who yesterday termed as “shameful” the act of political parties giving Lok Sabha tickets to Muzaffarnagar riots accused.

The Kairana MLA claimed the remark was “wrong and baseless as there had been no chargesheet filed in court against him in connection with the riots case so far”.

Singh, MLA from Kairana, will be contesting for the Lok Sabha elections from the same constituency on BJP ticket.

He was among the 16 politicians and community leaders who were accused of inciting violence through inflammatory speeches in Muzaffarnagar and had been briefly under arrest.

More than 60 persons were killed and over 40,000 displaced in riots that had taken place in Muzaffarnagar and adjoining areas in September last year.

In the wake of BJP’s demand for security to its top leaders, Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Thursday said the government has no information about possible threat to them from terror groups and adequate protection has been given to BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.

“We have no information regarding terror threat to BJP leaders,” he told after the saffron party claimed, citing media reports, that the lives of its top leaders were under threat.

Shinde said adequate security has been given to BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate. “We have given adequate security to Modi,” he said.

Shinde’s comments came hours after BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman said there were media reports which quoted Intelligence sources that the lives of the top BJP leaders were under threat.

“There is a threat to all BJP leaders. Based on IB sources, a section of media has been reporting that the BJP leaders’ lives are under threat and the BJP is very concerned and worried,” she said here.

Sitharaman said the party was very concerned and anxious if the Home Ministry has “taken cognisance of these reports and if they are taking any measures to ensure the safety of our leaders who are moving around the country for election campaigning”.

A 22-year-old woman was not only raped, but also paraded naked in public, after she revealed the incident to villagers at Kachikanakheda village, near the historic Sanchi town in the district, the police said in Raisen on Wednesday.

The accused, Saudan Singh (40), had raped the woman two days ago while she attended nature’s call and threatened her not to reveal the incident to anyone, Sanchi police station in-charge Purnendra Singh told reporters.

However, when the woman protested and revealed the incident to the people, the accused entered her residence forcibly and disrobed her, after which he pulled her out of her house by her hair.

When villagers who gathered at the spot, gave her clothes to cover herself, the accused disrobed her once again.

Later, her husband reached the spot and took her inside the house, the police said said.

The victim then reported the matter to the police, after which he was arrested on Tuesday and produced before a court Wednesday, which sent him to jail under judicial custody.

The police also seized the survivor’s torn clothes from the spot, the police said.

Union minister Shashi Tharoor has hit back at rivals who have raked up his wife Sunanda’s death to target him while campaigning for next month’s election.

Kerala’s opposition leader V S Achuthanandan had alleged a cover-up in the probe into her death and questioned by no case had been filed against the Congress MP from Thiruvananthapuram.

Mr. Tharoor accused Mr. Achuthanandan of making politically motivated demands for a case against him. “Let us all encourage Mr. Achuthanandan to go and ask the Delhi police, not the Congress, for a case. The investigations are not being conducted by the Congress. There is no FIR, charge-sheet or complaint against me,” the Congress MP said.

In response, Mr. Achuthanandan today said, “My accusations are not political. A leader’s wife died in mysterious circumstances. My statements are based on legal procedures and inaction.” The CPI-M veteran pointed out that a magisterial inquiry is needed when a woman dies within seven years of marriage.
Mr. Tharoor on Wednesday complained to the Election Commission against Left and BJP leaders for what he called a “sustained campaign of vilification and defamation.”

Based on his complaint, the state administration issued notice to CPI-M leader M Vijayakumar, who allegedly said at a public meeting on Tuesday that “Shashi Tharoor has a PhD in violence against women.”

Mr. Vijayakumar and CPI legislator VS Sunil Kumar, who reportedly called the Congress MP a “murderer” in a TV interview on Monday, were asked to explain their remarks by Saturday.

Mr. Tharoor has also complained about “defamatory” hoardings by BJP’s women activists showing him being beaten by women protesters.

“This is a sustained campaign by both the Left Democratic Front and the BJP, intended to portray me as someone who harms women, and using false stories about the tragic death of my wife to assassinate my character,” the Congress leader said.