Gujarat deputy CM’s son Jaimin Patel prevented from boarding Qatar Airways flight for being ‘heavily drunk’

According to Nitin Patel, his son did not board the flight as he was "unwell".

Ahmedabad, May 8: Jaimin Patel, the son of Gujarat’s deputy chief minister Nitin Patel, was prevented from boarding a Qatar Airways flight to Greece early on Monday. The carrier authorities found Jaimin ‘heavily drunk’, compelling them to disallow him from boarding the plane, scheduled to take off at 4 AM.

According to IANS sources, Jaimeen was intoxicated to the extent that was unable to walk at the airport. The authorities had to provide his family members a wheelchair to facilitate his movement at the airport. Although he cleared the immigration check, the flight officials prevented him from boarding the plane as his condition was unsafe.

“Jaimin also had an argument with the staff of the airways, after he was prevented from boarding the flight,” an official of Ahmedabad International Airport was quoted as saying. Jaimin was accompanied along with his wife Jhalak and daughter Vaishvi. They were reportedly going to Greece for a vacation.

According to Nitin Patel, the report against his son Jaimin are misleading. Alleging political conspiracy, he said Jamin was not intoxicated, but unwell. “He was not feeling well,” the minister said, while explaining why Jaimin did not board the Qatar Airways flight. “His wife called up home and then it was decided to return home and not proceed,” Patel said, further adding that his political opponents are planting fake news in order to malign his image.

The report of his son being boozed comes as a major embarrassment for Patel and BJP in the wake of upcoming Gujarat assembly elections. The party has been criticised for not implementing the liquor ban in a rigorous manner. In a recent public meeting addressed by Congress chief Rahul Gandhi in Gandhinagar, he took a jibe at the Vijay Rupani-led government for allegedly failing to prohibit the illicit sale of alcohol in the state.

The Aam Aadmi Party, which is taking nascent steps to challenge the BJP in upcoming assembly polls, has also made the alleged inefficient liquor ban a major poll issue. The party-in-charge for Gujarat, Gopal Rai, said liquor is available in every corner of Gujarat in illicit manner. The party is also vying for support on the issue from Dalit activist Jignesh Mavani and OBC leader Alpesh Thakur. Both the leaders had recently demanded a stringent liquor ban, claiming that SCs, STs and OBCs are worst affected due to the sale of illicit alcohol.