Mamata Banerjee's life in danger, says Trinamool as her plane makes emergency landing

The allegation was made after the commercial plane that the West Bengal Chief Minister travelled on Wednesday from Patna to Kolkata made an emergency landing.

"The plane was about to crash... we want to bring to notice that life of Mamata Banerjee is in danger," reports quoted Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandyopadhyay as saying.

The IndiGo flight from Patna to Kolkata was reported short of fuel, but was made to circle the airport for nearly 30 minutes awaiting clearance from the Air Traffic Control.  When it touched down, her  plane was surrounded by fire engines and ambulances, a protocol for emergencies.

The allegation came amid Banerjee's whirlwind tour to different states, campaigning against the Narendra Modi Government's demonetisation move.

In a statement,  IndiGo said that the pilot's remarks to Air Traffic Controllers were misunderstood and that he did not suggest he was running precariously low on fuel.

The pilot reportedly said he had fuel for "an extra eight minutes" but officials thought he meant he had fuel for only eight minutes.

Banerjee has has held rallies in Delhi, Lucknow and Patna to mobilise public opinion against the Government's sudden ban on 500 and 1000-rupee notes, which has caught the people in a severe cash crunch.

"Is there more to this than meets the eye?.... There is a school of thought that this is a conspiracy," TMC Rajya Sabha member Derek O'Brien said in the House.

Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju  said an inquiry has been ordered to know why three planes, including  Banerjee's, did not have adequate fuel.