There have been numerous instances of politicians throwing tantrums because they’ve not been afforded special treatment while they travel. In a heartening contrast to these unsavoury episodes, a Congress MP has complained to SpiceJet airline officials because he was treated like a VIP on Wednesday.
Newly elected Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh, Vivek Tankha sent a letter to SpiceJet about his Jabalpur-Delhi flight. In his letter, he said that when he and a Lok Sabha member boarded the shuttle to the arrival terminal, the doors were promptly shut and the two MPs were ferried exclusively from de-boarding to arrival.
“I strongly feel that an MP is like any other passenger and should expect the same courtesy as offered to other passengers. As a concerned citizen I feel there is no need to extend such extra courtesy to any MP or any VVIP/VIP,” he said in the letter addressed to Ajay Singh, a SpiceJet promoter. “In fact I found this extra courtesy extremely embarrassing," he added.
While expressing his gratitude for the courtesy extended to him, Tankha also said that “this is not required and should be discontinued with immediate effect for all VIPs (or atleast for me) barring if there is some very genuine or compelling security/health consideration.”
He also asserted that by the virtue of living in a democratic country, “every person is equally respected and important”.
Tankha’s statement comes at a time when cases of VIP culture have stirred resentment and many online campaigns.
Early this year, an Air India flight was delayed by seven hours and then cancelled because of a politician who asked for the flight to be rescheduled as his connecting flight had been cancelled.