Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju has denied allegations of getting the family of an Indian Air Force official de-boarded from a Leh-Delhi Air India flight, even as the IAF issued a statement saying no passenger was offloaded.
Speaking to CNN-IBN amid outrage over his alleged act, Rijiju said that he had no idea of Air India de-boarding three passengers to accommodate the minister, his assistant and Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh.
Clarifying his position, the Union minister claimed that he received sudden information about the flight leaving an hour before the scheduled departure, and he could manage to board it only after commotion, adding that he even registered a complaint in this regard with the Civil Aviation Ministry.
"I am not aware that any passenger was de-boarded to accommodate us in the Air India flight. It is illegal to de-board a bonafide passenger and cause unnecessary trouble," said Rijiju.
He further asserted that it was illegal and wrong on the part of Air India to de-board any passenger with valid documents, adding that corrective measures must be taken by the national aviation carrier in this regard.
The minister said, "In case any passenger has been de-boarded from the flight, action should be taken against those responsible."
Referring to media reports, the minister said that what happened was not permissible and nobody must intervene in the functioning of the airline. According to Rijiju, the Civil Aviation Ministry must take cognisance if Air India offloaded passengers and take appropriate action.
Meanwhile, the Indian Air Force said that the passengers in question were not de-boarded, but in fact not even allowed to board the flight as they were late.
Sources earlier said that Union Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathy Raju met senior officials in his ministry over the issue.
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