Bhopal: After facing flak over her argument onboard a flight, Bhopal BJP MP Pragya Thakur came out with a clarification saying that the crew and fellow passengers objected even as she was sitting on her reserved seat.
Thakur who is wheelchair-bound said that she had paid extra for getting the particular seat booked as she wanted extra leg space.
An argument broke out between BJP MP Pragya Thakur and other people on board over the allotment of the seat during a Delhi to Bhopal Spicejet flight recently.
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“I was travelling on a SpiceJet flight. I have a problem in my spinal cord and so I was allotted seat 1A which has extra leg space. I had even paid extra for the seat and was brought onboard on a wheelchair,” Thakur said in a press conference here.
The BJP MP from Bhopal said that “even the air hostess told her not to sit” on that seat.
“Two others also told me not to sit on the seat saying that it is an emergency seat. But it was not mentioned anywhere on the flight that it was an emergency seat. I told them if it is mentioned in a rule then provide a copy of the rule book but they did not have one,” she said.
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In a video that has emerged from the incident, people can be seen confronting the BJP MP and reminding her that she is people’s representative and her job is not to “trouble them”.
“Some passengers came and asked why the flight was being delayed. People thought I am showing off my VIP status but I was merely travelling like a normal passenger,” she added.
Thakur said that she travelled with pain in her back and later complained to the Director of Bhopal Airport. “I demand that the matter be investigated and action be taken against those responsible for it,” she said.
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On the other hand, SpiceJet on Sunday issued a clarification, saying that the Thakur was not allowed to sit on the pre-allotted seat as rules do not allow a ‘passenger on wheelchairs’ to be seated in the emergency row due to safety reasons.