The son of Gujarat Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel was barred from boarding a flight on Monday after turning up “heavily drunk” at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport near Ahmedabad , IANS reported. Jaimin Patel, accompanied by his wife Jhalak and daughter Vaishvi, was prevented from boarding a Qatar Airways flight to Greece on account of his inebriated condition and for arguing with airline staff. The flight was to take off at 4 am on Monday.

Patel was so drunk that he was forced to use a wheelchair at the airport, the news agency quoted airport staff as saying.

The minister, however, denied his son had been drunk and said the reports were 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 decided to return,” Patel said. “Our opponents are trying to tarnish our image by spreading false and mischievous information,” he added.