New Delhi: In a brazen display of so-called political power, notorious MP Pappu Yadav of Bihar has embarrassed the entire political class by misbehaving with an airhostess on board a Patna–Delhi Jet Airways flight on Tuesday. The power drunk MP, who is facing several criminal cases, refused to fasten the seat belt, straighten his seat and even spilled dessert on the next seat.
When an Airhostess politely requested him to follow mandatory air safety instructions, he got furious and misbehaved with her. A shocked captain of the aircraft asked the security at Delhi airport to rush to his flight once it landed in Delhi. Worse, unapologetic and totally uncouth Pappu Yadav defended his actions. Later he dismissed all the charges saying he did nothing wrong at all.
However, this is not the first time that an MP misbehaved with the aircraft staff. Several such incidents have happened in the past. Sadly, all of them have been hushed up by the concerned authorities.
Twelve years ago, the late Sahib Singh Verma, who was Cabinet minister of Labour and Employment in the A B Vajpayee government had also misbehaved with Jet Airways staff at Mumbai airport while returning from South Africa to Delhi via Mumbai. When the Mumbai–Delhi flight got delayed, he threw his weight around verbally abusing the aircraft cabin crew and ground staff. It had led to a huge furore then. But, the NDA government chose to ignore the matter.
In 2008, an MP from Kerala got into trouble after he called Air India pilots nothing but glorified drivers. Charges flew thick and fast and denials followed with businessman-cum-Rajya Sabha MP P V Abdul Wahab alleging ‘rude’ behaviour by the pilot and the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) claiming that the Indian Union Muslim League leader "opened the cockpit door, entered inside and abused the pilot". Wahab and his wife were to fly from Kozhikode to Kochi from where they were to catch a connecting flight to Dubai but were ordered to disembark. The pilot reportedly questioned an airline official why the plane was being delayed after they allegedly reached late. The couple reached Dubai by another flight. Supporting the pilot, Capt Rajat Rana, the ICPA said it would protest if any action was taken against him, according to Sify.com.
Later it erupted into a major row with the MP being accused of calling the pilot a ‘glorified driver’ while he threatened to move Parliament's Privileges Committee on the issue.
But the MP, who has been a resident of the UAE for the last 32 years and shifted residence to Kerala after becoming a Rajya Sabha MP, said after reaching Dubai that he had not entered the cockpit.
The current Civil Aviation Minister, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, has instructed the national carrier Air India not to delay flight for VIPs and asked them not to tolerate any misbehaviour or pressure. Congress MP and former Union minister Renuka Chaudhury had missed her Air India international flight after she was busy shopping at the Delhi airport, recently.
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