Emergency exit incident: Dayanidhi Maran takes a dig at Tejasvi Surya in video clip

The TN parliamentarian, who flew to Coimbatore via IndiGo, tweeted the video via his official Twitter handle, which has gone viral.

ByPTI

Published Jan 21, 2023 | 9:38 PMUpdatedJan 21, 2023 | 9:38 PM

Screengrab of the Dayanidhi Maran video. (Dayanidhi Maran/Twitter)

DMK MP Dayanidhi Maran, who flew to Coimbatore on Saturday, 21 January, ridiculed BJP MP Tejasvi Surya in relation to the IndiGo emergency exit incident that occurred on 10 December.

The Tamil Nadu parliamentarian, who flew to Coimbatore via IndiGo, tweeted the video via his official Twitter handle, which has now gone viral.

The former Union minister, who represents the Chennai Central Lok Sabha constituency, said in the video that no knowledgeable person would indulge in acts that might put the lives of passengers in peril.

In the video clips — one in Tamil and another in English — Maran is seen seated near the emergency exit of the plane.

“Vanakkam. Vaazhga Tamil Nadu. I am travelling to Kovai (Coimbatore) on an IndiGo flight from Chennai. I was allotted a seat near the emergency exit. I will not open the emergency exit because if I do, I will have to give a written apology. Also, it would pose a threat to the flight,” Maran is heard saying in Tamil.

“Apart from that, opening the emergency door also poses a great threat to passengers. People with self-knowledge will not do such a thing. By not opening it, passengers, including myself, will save two hours. I hope others will follow this. Thank you,” he quipped in the short clip.

Maran captioned the video, “To all flyers, in the interest of passenger safety, please don’t fool around with the #EmergencyExit! [sic]”

He tagged IndiGo, the DGCA, and Tejasvi Surya in the tweet.

Also read: After SF report, DGCA acknowledges Tejasvi Surya involvement

The incident

Surya, president of the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha and an MP from the Bengaluru South Lok Sabha constituency, allegedly opened the emergency exit of the IndiGo flight he was on — from Chennai to Tiruchy.

The incident occurred in December 2022, and he issued a written apology after the incident.

BJP Tamil Nadu chief Annamalai was seated next to Surya on the IndiGo flight from Chennai to Trichy on 10 December.

The airline said that a passenger had accidentally opened the emergency exit of the plane after boarding at Chennai airport, causing a two-hour delay.

Subsequently, it was claimed that Tejaswi Surya “accidentally” opened the emergency door.

(Disclaimer: The headline, subheads, and intro of this report along with the photos may have been reworked by South First. The rest of the content is from a syndicated feed, and has been edited for style.)