At a loss for words, Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) leader and former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh wept uncontrollably when asked for his statement after NCP leader and Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar and four others died in a plane crash in Maharshtra's Baramati.
A video shows Deshmukh sitting in front of reporters in Nagpur, trying to articulate his remarks on Pawar's death as tears well up in his eyes. He then wipes his eyes with a handkerchief and tries to speak. After uttering a few incoherent words, he again loses composure and continues to cry.
Deshmukh is among the many leaders who have been left in deep sorrow by Pawar's death, whose Learjet45XR crashed at 8.46 pm on Wednesday, erupting into flames and smoke. The others who died included the pilot Sumit Kapoor, a crew member Shambhavi Pathak, Pawar's personal security officer Vidip Jadhav and Pinky Mali.
Leaders from across party lines offered condolences. The last rites will be held in Baramati on Thursday at 11 am and the Maharashtra government declared a three-day mourning period on Wednesday. During these three days, the national flag will be flown at half-mast at all the buildings in Maharashtra where the national flag is regularly hoisted. Also, no government entertainment programmes should be organised during this period. It has been decided that all state government offices in the state will remain closed on Wednesday.
