NEW DELHI, Dec. 6 (Xinhua) -- Indian President Pranab Mukherjee apparently had a close shave Tuesday after his plane developed snag mid-air en route the southern state of Tamil Nadu from Delhi.
Sources said the Indian Air Force plane was taking the President to Tamil Nadu's capital Chennai, where he was supposed to pay tributes to the departed Chief Minister of the southern state.
"The snag forced the plane to return to Delhi mid-way. The President took off in the same plane after the snag was fixed later in the day," the sources said.
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, J. Jayalalitha, one of India's most charismatic and popular politicians, died at a private hospital in state capital Chennai late Monday night, aged 68.
Indian President Pranab Mukherjee, who had known the woman politician for decades, tweeted in the early hours: "In her passing away, the nation has lost an icon who was loved and admired by millions."
