Air India withdraws boarding passes with PM Modi's picture
What's the story
Air India has decided to withdraw the boarding passes featuring the pictures of PM Narendra Modi and Gujarat CM, Vijay Rupani, after former Punjab DGP Shashi Kant's tweet sparked a controversy. The outrage started as the pictures violate the Model Code of Conduct. Separately, Railways also had to withdraw its tickets recently, featuring the PM after TMC's complained to the Election Commission.
Statement
Apparently, boarding passes were printed during Vibrant Gujarat summit
In a statement, Dhananjay Kumar, spokesperson of Air India said, "Air India has decided to roll back the boarding passes of Vibrant Gujarat which had photos of the Prime Minister and the Gujarat Chief Minister." In an earlier statement, the Airline clarified that boarding passes were third-party advertisements from Vibrant Gujarat summit, and would be discontinued if they violate the Model Code of Conduct.
Quote
Air India has nothing to do with it, says Kumar
"The rolls seem to be the ones left over from the passes printed during Vibrant Gujarat Summit'19 and the photos are third-party advertisements. It's nothing to do with Air India. These boarding passes aren't just for Gujarat, but are in use across India," Kumar said.
Post
Why are we wasting public money, asks Kant
The controversy surfaced when Kant tweeted a picture of his Air India boarding pass issued at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi today. He questioned the pictures of the two leaders on the boarding pass. He wrote, "Wonder why we are wasting public money on this Election Commission, which doesn't see, hear or speak."
Twitter Post
Kant's Twitter post creates buzz, invites several comments
At New Delhi airport today March 25th, 2019.
— Shashi Kant IPS (@shashikantips54) March 25, 2019
My Air India Boarding Pass, prominently flashes Narendra Modi, "Vibrant Gujrat" Vijay Rupani. Picture of boarding pass is below.
Wonder why we are wasting public money on this Election Commission, which doesn't see, hears or speak... pic.twitter.com/7t49cNIlAR
Controversy
Earlier, Railways withdrew tickets with PM's picture after TMC's complaint
Earlier on March 21, the Indian Railways had to discontinue the issuance of railway tickets with the pictures of PM Modi after Trinamool Congress (TMC) reported the issue to the Election Commission of India. The TMC delegation accused Bharatiya Janata Party of violating the Model Code of Conduct. The country is set to go into a seven-phase general election, starting April 11 onwards.
Explanation
Model Code of Conduct allows no advertisements on government property
Model Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission to keep a check on the political parties in the run-up to the elections and comes into effect after the announcement of the elections. Political parties can't advertise on any public property like train, airplane and government infrastructure. Air India, being a public undertaking, can't bear endorsement for any party.