New Delhi: Congress leader Pawan Khera, who was arrested today at the Delhi airport after being taken off a flight to Chhattisgarh capital Raipur for insulting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, got relief from the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court said Khera will get interim bail till February 28, where he will appear before a court in Delhi.

Make no mistake- pathetic remarks by courtier Pawan Khera on PM’s father have blessings of the top levels of Congress, which is full of entitlement and disdain against a person of humble origins being PM. India will not forget or forgive these horrible remarks of Congressmen.

— Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) February 20, 2023

Senior Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera was forced to leave after boarding an IndiGo flight as part of a Congress delegation to Raipur for the All India Congress Committee (AICC) meeting.

Pawan Khera was arrested by the Assam Police who arrived at the airport with an FIR or First Information Report. “It’s a long battle and I’m ready to fight,” he said as he was chased away by police.

In protest, several Congress leaders got off the plane and staged a sit-in on the Delhi airport tarmac.

In a statement, IndiGo said: “Police disembarked a passenger from Raipur-bound flight 6E 204 at Delhi airport. Some passengers also decided to disembark on their own accord. We are following the advice of the authorities concerned. The flight is currently delayed and we apologize for the inconvenience caused to other passengers.”

Mr Gera said he was initially told there was a problem with his luggage. “They said you can’t fly. Then the DCP (Deputy Commissioner of Police) will meet you. I have been waiting for a long time,” he said.

Mr Khera was named in the FIR based on a complaint by a BJP leader in Assam.

In a recent press conference, Mr Khera mentioned PM Modi’s name, seeking a joint parliamentary inquiry into the Adani-Hindenburg affair. “If Narasimha Rao can form JPC (JPC, Joint Parliamentary Committee), Atal Bihari Vajpayee can form JPC, Narendra Gautam Das… sorry Damodar Das… what’s the problem with Modi?” He appeared to confirm the middle name with a colleague.

The BJP insists that Mr Khera’s blunder was deliberate.
“Make no mistake – Congressman Pawan Khera’s deplorable comments about the Prime Minister’s father have the blessings of the Congress, which is full of entitlement and contempt for a person from a humble background to be the Prime Minister. India will not forget or condone these cruel comments by Congressmen,” Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma said.

The Congress said the BJP was acting scared and wanted to block the party’s plenary session because of “Rahul Gandhi’s successful Bharat Jodo Yatra”. Last week, the Enforcement Directorate raided Congress MLAs in Chhattisgarh over money laundering allegations.