Ban on Kunal Kamra has negative bearing on aviation sector: Derek O'Brien

Finding fault with the "extremely arbitrary" ban on stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra by four airlines, senior Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien on Wednesday said this could have a "negative bearing" on the country's aviation policy and wanted a Parliamentary panel dealing with aviation sector to discuss it.

In his letter to Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture Chairman T G Venkatesh, the Trinamool Congress' Rajya Sabha leader said he wanted the panel to take cognizance of the "unlawful ban arbitrarily" imposed on Kamra by IndiGo, SpiceJet, Air India and GoAir.

Kamra was slapped with a flying ban by the four airlines for "unruly behaviour" after he heckled journalist Arnab Goswami on a Mumbai-Lucknow flight on January 28 and posted its video on social media. IndiGo banned him from flying on its flights for six months while Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri supported the airline's action while advising others to follow suit.

O'Brien said Kamra was denied opportunity to be heard and the airlines slapped the ban on him. The ban was endorsed by Puri and following his advise, the Trinamool MP said, other airlines imposed an "indefinite" flying ban on the comedian.

"The behaviour of these airline carriers is violative of the Handling of Unruly Passengers Rules 2017, principles of natural justice and extremely arbitrary. I urge the committee to take cognisance of the matter as occurance of such incidents can have a negative bearing on the aviation policy of the nation," he said.

Sources said the issue is likely to be raised in the panel meeting scheduled for Thursday when it meets to discuss the Demands for Grants for the Ministry of Civil Aviation. They said another issue pertaining to MPs being made to pay up for cancelling air tickets allotted to them by Parliament due to emergency situation is also likely to be raised.

The panel, sources said, on Wednesday took up the Demands of Grants for the ministries of Tourism and Culture during which officials were given a week's time to provide response to the issues raised by MPs.

Among other things, officials briefed MPs about Mahatma Gandhi portal and the growth of tourism sector.

Sources said O'Brien also raised the issue of Tourism and Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel “misleading” the Parliament on a question raised by CPI(M) MP Elamaram Kareem in Rajya Sabha on the loss in revenue in Jammu and Kashmir tourism sector after the scrapping of special status of the state and its bifurcation into two union territories in early August last year.

While Patel had said that information on revenue from tourism is "not maintained", the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department informed the Centre about 71% revenue loss in tourism sector between August and October last year, prompting Kareem to submit a privilege notice against the Minister.

The MPs also asked about the success of the portal on Mahatma Gandhi with some asking how many people have visited it. One of the senior Opposition MPs in the panel is learnt to have asked the representatives of the Ministry of Culture that after the portal on the Father of the Nation, whether the ministry is considering setting up a portal on his killer Nathuram Godse.