Emergency exit opening row: Congress leader calls Surya 'childish', demands legal action

Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP Manickam Tagore on Thursday demanded legal action against BJP MP Tejasvi Surya who allegedly opened the emergency exit door of an aircraft at the Chennai airport during the boarding process in December.

Tagore said that it is unbelievable that an MP who put the safety of fellow passengers at risk is getting away by saying sorry.

Calling Surya "childish", Tagore wrote on Twitter, "how can passengers' safety be put to test by childish MP and he can get away by saying sorry?"

He wrote that he would raise the matter in Parliament for legal action.

Earlier on Wednesday, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia confirmed that BJP MP Tejasvi Surya opened the emergency exit door of an IndiGo flight last year by "mistake" and has already apologised for it.

"It is important to look at the facts. The (emergency) door was opened by him by mistake when the flight was on the ground and after all checks, the flight was allowed to take off. He also apologised for the mistake. All protocols were followed and DGCA has investigated the matter. It was found all protocols were followed and pressurisation was also checked," Scindia told reporters.

IndiGo on December 10 said that a passenger accidentally opened the emergency exit of its flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli at the Chennai airport during the boarding process when the plane was on the tarmac.

IndiGo also had said the passenger accidentally opened the emergency exit door and apologised for the action.

"A passenger travelling on Flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli on Dec 10 accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process. The passenger apologised for the action. As per SOPs, aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks which led to delay departure," IndiGo statement said.

Meanwhile, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Roads, Shipping, Civil Aviation, Tourism, and Culture Chairman Vijayasai Reddy will write a letter to the ministry regarding the issue, sources told ANI.

Surya was seated next to Tamil Nadu BJP president K. Annamalai during his travel on December 10.

Opposition parties have targeted Tejasvi Surya over the incident.

(ANI)

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