Aviation minister denies helping Diwakar Reddy in boarding flight

A total of seven airline companies have now barred Telugu Desam Party MP JC Diwakar Reddy from flying on their planes.

Visakhapatnam, June 16: Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju has denied helping Telugu Desam party (TDP) MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy board the flight after the latter created a ruckus at the Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday.

Raju told a television channel on Friday that the MP came to him and told him that he had been waiting at the airport for one hour but was denied the boarding pass.

"We have a third umpire called CCTV. We don't have to take anybody's words for it. It showed what that situation was. I asked the airport director to verify from CCTV camera," the minister said.

Hours after tweeting that he would get the incident probed, Raju said there was no need for probe. "What are we going to probe? CCTV camera has said it all," he remarked.

Raju said the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) norms were clear that a passenger should get the boarding pass 45 minutes before the flight's departure time and the safety regulations were same for all categories of passengers.

He found fault with his party MP's behaviour. "This is not expected of any citizen, forget a Parliament member. Pushing, pulling and hammering people... Law will take its own course," Raju said.

A total of seven airline companies have now barred Telugu Desam Party MP JC Diwakar Reddy from flying on their planes after his violent behaviour in Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday morning.

IANS