On December 10, 2022, an Indigo flight from Chennai to Tiruchirappalli experienced a major scare when a passenger unintentionally pulled a lever next to the emergency gate, opening the emergency door. The event occurred when the aeroplane, 6E-7339, carrying 70 passengers, was preparing to take off.
Although news organisation ANI withheld the identity of the person who unintentionally opened the emergency door, a passenger aboard the aircraft verified to a magazine that the man was BJP MP Tejasvi Surya. Surya, according to South First, was the one who pulled the lever.
The emergency door on an ATR, a tiny aircraft, is located in the front. While the majority of seats have handles, there is no armrest on the seats closest to the emergency exit. According to News18, Surya was casually resting his hand on the door when he eventually told the air hostess that the door could have opened a little. An informed Tamil Nadu BJP leader claimed, “She then started to take the safety procedures that are needed since the lever had been pushed down accidentally.”
The BJP representative added, “As required by protocol, the incident had to be reported in writing to the airlines and the airport authorities and that was done as responsible citizens.
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Surya, a first-time member of parliament from Bengaluru South, is also the national president of the BJP Yuva Morcha, the party’s youth wing. On December 10, Surya spoke at the BJYM Tamil Nadu state executive meeting in Tiruchirapalli with the assistance of the TN BJP president.
The opposition parties, including the Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, and the Trinamool Congress, joined on the allegation bandwagon and asserted that Tejasvi Surya’s allegedly “accidental” opening of the IndiGo flight’s emergency door was a grave error that endangered lives.
Senthil Balaji, the minister of energy for Tamil Nadu, tweeted about the plane incident for the first time on December 29.
The DMK minister claims in a tweet written in Tamil that Surya was responsible for endangering the lives of multiple IndiGo passengers.
“On December 10th, the state president of the ‘photoshop’ party and the national head of the youth wing recklessly opened the emergency exit in an aircraft. All passengers were deboarded for checks in accordance with the rules. This put the passengers’ safety at jeopardy. Three hours were added to the flight’s delay. Since their clan is accustomed to writing and giving apology letters, one was written and given that day. Why haven’t the news outlets covered it? wrote Balaji in a tweet.
2 ஆர்வக்கோளாறுகள் விமானத்தின் Emergency கதவை திறந்து விளையாடியது பற்றி டிச-29 அன்று நான் கேள்வியெழுப்பி இருந்தேன். இன்று DGCA விசாரிக்க உத்தரவிட்டுள்ளது. வெளிநாட்டு வாட்ச் கட்டுவது தேசப்பற்றென உருட்டிய பொய்யர், சுதந்திர காற்றை சுவாசிக்க கதவை திறந்தேன் என உருட்டாமல் இருந்தால் சரி. pic.twitter.com/yzWrd97dxs
— V.Senthilbalaji (@V_Senthilbalaji) January 17, 2023
Randeep Singh Surjewala, a prominent member of the Congress, also commented on the matter on Twitter.
The VIP Brats of the BJP! How blatantly rude of the airline! Is it typical for the BJP’s ruling class? Did it endanger travellers’ safety? Ohhh! U can’t inquire about the entitled VIPs of the BJP, he tweeted.
The TMC also stated on social media that “BJP MP Tejasvi Surya’s recklessness might have cost lives.”
What an Absolute Nincompoop !!
This BJP Brat opened the “Emergency Exit” delaying the flight and putting Innocent Lives at Risk…@Tejasvi_Surya should be ARRESTED! pic.twitter.com/FSH9AdVn4b
— 𝐑𝐢𝐣𝐮 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐚 (@DrRijuDutta_TMC) January 18, 2023
The Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) issued a statement confirming the event that happened a month ago but did not identify the perpetrator, despite the parties’ claims being based on news reports and tweets from DMK officials about the incident.
IndiGo, the airline, also released a statement saying that “the passenger instantly apologised for their behaviour. The aircraft completed a necessary engineering check in accordance with SOPs, which caused a delay in the flight’s departure.
