In yet another instance of rude behavior of a Member of Parliament with airlines staff, the maverick 73 year old MP of ruling TDP from Anantapur of Andhra Pradesh, JC Diwakar Reddy, reportedly damaged a printer at Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday, when the Indigo staff at the check-in counter expressed their inability to issue him a boarding pass.
According airport sources the MP arrived late for the Hyderabad bound Indigo flight scheduled for takeoff at 8.05 am. The staff closed down their counter as the plane was almost getting ready to takeoff. The MP insisted that boarding pass be issued. The staff tried convincing him that the counter was closed as per rules.
The irate MP then started arguing with the staff and at a stage he grabbed and banged the printer, used for printing board passes on the floor. However Airport officials said that they will have to investigate the issue before confirming the incident. Airport police also said that there was no complaint by the Indigo staff about the incident hence no case was registered against the MP.
It is reported that another TDP MP Ashok Gajapathi who is also the union civil aviation minister was also present at the airport but refused to help Diwakar Reddy to board the plane. A red faced Diwakar Reddy thus missed his flight.
This is not the first time that the stalwart Congress leader from Anantapur who shifted his loyalty to TDP has put Party chief Nara Chandrababu Naidu into trouble through his acts. Last October Diwakar Reddy created similar scene at the Vijayawada Airport when he missed an Air India flight. That time his act was caught on CC TV.
Earlier, yet another BJP ally Shiva Sena MP had caused embarrassment to the government by slapping a staffer of Air India. He faced a ban on flying that was subsequently relaxed. Opposition YSR Congress has demanded action on Reddy, citing the example of their MP Mithun Reddy who was arrested for rude behavior at the Renigunta Airport. It was alleged that he assaulted the airport manager.
Published 15 June 2017, 13:08 IST