A video next to emergency exit: Dayanidhi Maran’s subtle dig at Tejasvi

Sitting next to an emergency exit in an aircraft, DMK MP and former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran on Saturday took a subtle dig at his parliamentary colleague Tejasvi Surya. Posting 30-second and 20-second videos in Tamil and English shot from inside an aircraft, Maran said he won’t open the emergency exit as it would only delay the flight and force him to write an apology letter.

Maran was targeting Surya, who “accidentally” opened the emergency exit of the Chennai-Tiruchirapalli flight on December 10 while the aircraft was getting ready for take-off. Though Surya hasn’t come out with his version on the incident, IndiGo, and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have said that the Bangalore South MP opened the emergency exit on the flight.

“Vanakkam. Vaazhga Tamil Nadu. I am travelling to Coimbatore in an IndiGo flight. I am sitting near the emergency exit. But I am not going to open it. If I open it, I will have to write an apology letter. Also, opening the gate is neither good for the flight nor for the passengers,” Maran said in the video.

“No person with self-awareness will do this (open the emergency exit). Moreover, our time will be saved. We will save two hours,” Maran said, indirectly referring to the delay of the flight on which Surya opened the emergency exit.

The videos, posted by Maran himself on his verified Twitter page, have gone viral.

The incident, which was a hot topic in political circles for the past few weeks, received public attention on January 17 after former Karnataka-cadre IAS officer Sasikanth Senthil took to Twitter to ask what happened aboard 6E7339 on December 10.

“The flight was ready for take-off when Surya pulled the lever leading to opening of the emergency exit. We were immediately disembarked from the plane and the flight was delayed by over two hours,” a co-passenger told DH. He had added that Surya did apologise to passengers for his “action” in the bus in which they waited for about two hours before being allowed to board the aircraft.