The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy was banned by most of the domestic airlines in the country because of which he moved the Hyderabad High Court on Tuesday. The reason is that he had created a ruckus at the Visakhapatnam Airport.
Reddy had tried to throw a printer on the floor and was also seen pushing a senior airline official as he arrived late for his IndiGo flight for which he was denied a ticket.
A popular news channel reported he called his alleged rowdyism a “trivial incident that was given the wrong color.” He further claimed, “Had I misbehaved with them, they would have lodged a FIR against me. Following the intervention of the ministry of civil aviation, I was even given a boarding pass.”
This came just days after regional airline TruJet denied a ticket to Reddy from Hyderabad to Vijayawada.
However, TruJet had to apologize to Reddy as an employee went ahead and refused to give him a ticket because of confusion.
Reddy also argued that imposing a ban on him without conducting an inquiry is unlawful and contrary to his rights according to the Constitution. He also said that his age would not permit him to take up other modes of travel.
Last month, two videos from CCTV cameras had surfaced. While one showed Reddy shouting at the airline officials and trying to throw a printer on the floor, the other showed him pushing a senior airline official.
The Union Civil Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapati Raju was present at the airport during the incident but denied helping the MP. He clarified that he had only asked the airport director to look into the matter by examining the CCTV footage.
Due to his violent behavior, IndiGo barred the 73 year old businessman politician from using its flights. Other domestic airlines including Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, GoAir, AirAsia and Vistara also followed suit.
