New Delhi, Feb 9: BJP member Tejasvi Surya had accidentally opened the emergency door of an IndiGo aircraft last month and the airline did not find the passenger in violation of any rule, according to the civil aviation ministry.
Surya, the ruling BJP's Bengaluru South MP, has been facing flak from Congress over the incident, which happened on December 10 last year at Chennai airport.
To a question on whether the government through aviation regulator DGCA has identified the passenger who illegally opened the emergency door of a flight at Chennai, Minister of State for Civil Aviation V K Singh replied in the affirmative.
"As per the report submitted by InterGlobe Aviation Limited, the name of the passenger alleged in the incident is Shri Tejasvi Surya who had boarded flight 6E-7339 (Chennai to Tiruchirappalli) at Chennai Airport on December 10, 2022.
"The emergency door opened accidently as clarified by InterGlobe Aviation Limited. This was not a deliberate action and as per InterGlobe Aviation, they did not find the passenger to be in violation of any rule," Singh said in a written reply.
On whether the DGCA has taken any action, the minister said as per the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) regarding 'Notification of incidents and investigation thereof", the occurrence did not come under the category of 'reportable occurrence'.
"The matter was investigated by the concerned airline. The occurrence took place while the aircraft was on ground and the flight departed only after completing all the safety checks/ protocols," the minister said.
On January 18, Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said Surya himself reported the incident where he accidentally opened the emergency exit of the IndiGo plane and apologised for it.
In another written reply on Thursday, Singh said as per maintenance procedures prescribed by the manufacturer, the emergency exit door is required to be installed back and pressurisation check carried out before the aircraft is released for flight.
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Patna (PTI): Former Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav, who was recently expelled from the RJD by his father and founding president Lalu Prasad, has announced that he would contest the upcoming Bihar assembly elections from Mahua seat in Vaishali district as an Independent candidate.
He is currently the MLA of Hasanpur seat in Samastipur district.
Speaking to reporters at his residence here on Saturday evening, he said, "Yes, this time, I will contest the elections from Mahua assembly seat as an Independent candidate. My opponents must have started to feel an itch."
"I have people's support... a large number of people are now connected with my 'Team Tej Pratap Yadav', a social media platform to reach out to people," he added.
He further claimed that Chief Minister Nitish Kumar would not retain his post after the assembly polls.
"I am confident that 'chacha' (Nitish) will not become the CM... those who would form the government, if they talk about youths, employment, education, and health, Tej Pratap Yadav will stand with them," he said.
The former Bihar minister was expelled from the party on May 25 by his father Lalu Prasad for six years.
He was expelled a day after he reportedly confessed on social media to being "in a relationship" with a woman named Anushka.
He, however, later deleted the Facebook post with a claim that his page was "hacked". Lalu Prasad also disowned Tej Pratap due to his "irresponsible behaviour".
A few days after his expulsion from the party, Tej Pratap had alleged that there was a "conspiracy" to drive a wedge between him and his younger brother Tejashwi Yadav.
He had voiced his sentiments in a couple of posts on his X handle, blaming the crisis on 'Jaichand', a metaphor for traitors.
His expulsion came barely a few months ahead of the Bihar assembly polls, which the RJD will fight under the leadership of Tejashwi Yadav. Born to Prasad and Rabri Devi, both former chief ministers of Bihar, the two brothers are among four of nine siblings active in politics.
Tej Pratap Yadav had made his political debut in the assembly polls of 2015, and is a second-term MLA with two brief stints in the state cabinet.