Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel's son was stopped from boarding a Qatar Airways flight early on Monday after he arrived in a "heavily drunken" state and argued with the staff at the airport.
Jaiman Patel, who is in his mid-30s, along with his wife Jhalak and daughter Vaishvi were stopped from boarding the plane, which was scheduled to take-off at 4 am, official sources told news agency IANS. The family was headed to Greece for a vacation.
Patel, who is a land dealer, reached the Ahmedabad International Airport in a drunken state, barely able to walk. He cleared the immigration and other checks in a wheelchair due to his inebriated condition, said airport officials.
"Jaimin Patel was prevented from boarding the flight. He also had an argument with the staff of the airways," an official said, requesting anonymity.
Meanwhile, Nitin Patel told reporters in Gandhinagar that this was a ploy to defame him. "My son, his wife and daughter were going for a vacation. He was not feeling well."
"His wife called up home and then it was decided to return home and not proceed," the 60-year-old minister added.
"Our opponents are trying to tarnish our image by spreading false and mischievous information," he said.
The incident comes days after Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad was barred by Air India (AI) and private airline carriers for assaulting an AI staffer.
Over two weeks after being blacklisted and grounded by all airlines, Gaikwad tendered a letter expressing "regrets" over the incident, following which Air India revoked the flying ban on Saturday, followed by the private airlines.
