Fracas could result in flying ban on Youth Congress men, Jayarajan
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Sloganeering against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan by Youth Congress workers and manhandling of them by LDF convenor E P Jayarajan on an Indigo flight upon its landing in Thiruvananthapuram airport could result in a flying ban for both parties. As per the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) norms, an internal complaint committee of an airline can probe a complaint filed by the pilot in command and ban a passenger if he/she is found to be “unruly”.
The DGCA categorises unruly behaviour into three levels. Level one involves verbal harassment and it can invite a flying ban for three months and level two deals with physically abusive behaviour that could invite a flying ban for six months, while level three deals with life-threatening behaviour that could attract a flying ban for two years or more.
The level of unruliness will be decided by the internal committee comprising a retired district and sessions judge as chairman, a representative from another scheduled airline and a representative from a consumer association or a retired officer of the Consumer Dispute Redressal Forum.
The visuals shot on a mobile phone showed the Youth Congress workers shouting slogans against the CM, while Jayarajan is seen pushing them down to the floor. Going by the visuals, the Youth Congress workers committed level one offence, while Jayarajan committed level two offence, which is more serious in nature and could invite a more lengthy flying ban.
Once pitted in a no-fly list by an airline, other companies too can follow suit and temporarily ban the passenger from travelling as in the case of stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, who was initially banned for six months by several airlines for “heckling” journalist Arnab Goswami on board in 2020. A similar incident had occurred in Thoothukudi airport in 2018 when a research scholar shouted slogans against then BJP Tamil Nadu state chief Tamilisai Soundararajan. Lois Sofia, who hailed from Tamil Nadu and doing her research in Canada, was taken into police custody and a case was foisted on her. However, the airline did not initiate any action against her from its side. The Tamil Nadu State Human Rights Commission had later found that several cops had manipulated the FIR against Lois and awarded her a compensation of Rs 2 lakh, which was to be recovered from the erring cops.
Eyes on Yechury’s stand now
The CPM, which is in an unrelenting mood viz-a-viz the Youth Congress protest against the CM inside the flight, has likened it to a terrorist act. But this position contradicts the stand the party had taken in similar cases in the past. The CPM then had strongly criticised the police and the airline companies for trying to curb dissent. CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury had strongly assailed the police case and the flying ban in the two incidents and threw his weight behind Kunal and Lois.
UNDER PRESSURE, SCHOOL SUSPENDS TEACHER
Kannur: Farzeen Majeed, teacher of Muttannur Aided UP School who had raised slogans against Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on board IndiGo flight on Monday, has been suspended by the school management, pending enquiry. Majeed, who is also the Youth Congress Mattannur block president, has been suspended for 15 days after parents of several students reached the school on Tuesday and complained against the teacher. These parents asked for TCs for their children, putting the school management in a tight spot. It forced the management to a decision quickly to assuage their feelings.