BJP MP Tejasvi Surya not named in official release of IndiGo flight fiasco

BJP MP Tejasvi Surya comes under attack after IndiGo released claimed that a passenger had opened the emergency exit of Chennai Tiruchirapalli flight on December 10, 2022.

Chennai: Airline authorities at IndiGo released a statement on Tuesday claiming that a passenger had opened the emergency exit of its Chennai-Tiruchirapalli flight on December 10, 2022, though it did not name the person in the release. BJP MP from Bengaluru South and national president of the party's Yuva Morcha, Tejasvi Surya, has come under the lens after a passenger who was on the same flight claimed it was him.

As per the general rules, the release issued by airline officials often includes the name of the responsible person with an account of the action taken. The release this time has however not mentioned his name or any other details about him. A Twitter user who goes by the name Karthik on his account id 'beastoftraal' has laid down an account of previous such releases through a tweet wherein people held responsible for such offenses have been named.

• Feb. 2017: Passenger opens emergency exit. Named. In news. Case regd.
  Jul. 2017: Passenger opens emergency exit. Named. In news. Handed to CISF.
  Apr. 2019: Passenger opens emergency exit. Named. In news. Case regd.
  Dec. 2022: Passenger opens emergency exit. Not named. No case. pic.twitter.com/WDBEsLyplv

  — Karthik 🇮🇳 (@beastoftraal) January 18, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="

  Feb. 2017: Passenger opens emergency exit. Named. In news. Case regd.
  Jul. 2017: Passenger opens emergency exit. Named. In news. Handed to CISF.
  Apr. 2019: Passenger opens emergency exit. Named. In news. Case regd.
  Dec. 2022: Passenger opens emergency exit. Not named. No case. pic.twitter.com/WDBEsLyplv

  — Karthik 🇮🇳 (@beastoftraal) January 18, 2023

  ">

  Feb. 2017: Passenger opens emergency exit. Named. In news. Case regd.
  Jul. 2017: Passenger opens emergency exit. Named. In news. Handed to CISF.
  Apr. 2019: Passenger opens emergency exit. Named. In news. Case regd.
  Dec. 2022: Passenger opens emergency exit. Not named. No case. pic.twitter.com/WDBEsLyplv

  — Karthik 🇮🇳 (@beastoftraal) January 18, 2023

The said passenger claimed that Surya was seated near the emergency exit and after the cabin crew explained the emergency rules, he pulled it open. The release by the airline meanwhile said the incident occurred on IndiGo flight ATR 72-600, which was scheduled to depart from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli at 10.05 am but was delayed by two hours due to the act.

This led to deplaning of all the passengers, and after two hours of waiting, the flight took off. The passenger said that the chief of BJP's Tamil Nadu unit, K. Annamalai, was also on the flight along with Surya. He said that Surya later traveled on the same flight, but he was removed from the seat near the emergency exit.

BT Arasukumar, a former BJP leader and currently the spokesman of the DMK, who was also on the same flight, said that he had seen both Surya and Annamalai on the flight, but did not know if the MP had opened the emergency exit. The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has commenced an inquiry into the matter. However, when contacted by IANS, the DGCA official declined to comment on the matter. When contacted, Surya's office informed IANS that a statement will be released soon in this regard.