Two more airlines -- AirAsia and Vistara -- joined the growing list of organisations that barred TDP MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy, a day after he misbehaved with IndiGo staff and created a ruckus at the Visakhapatnam airport.
Following the incident, IndiGo and four other airlines - Air India, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and GoAir - barred Reddy from travelling on their aircraft, late on Thursday evening.
Reddy created a ruckus at the airport after he was denied a boarding pass for an IndiGo flight, as he had showed up late.
The Telugu Desam Party lawmaker from Anantapur was also said to have damaged a printer and misbehaved with IndiGo airline staff.
"We will support the decision taken by the industry with regard to the recent incident involving an IndiGo staff," AirAsia India said in a statement.
On its part, Vistara said: "In support of the fellow carriers and zero tolerance towards abusive behaviour, Vistara has also taken a decision to impose a flying ban on J. C. Diwakar Reddy."
"The incident which occurred in Visakhapatnam is a matter of concern. As IndiGo has banned the MP to travel, so Air India has also barred him," the national carrier's spokesperson Dhananjay Kumar told IANS on Thursday.
A video that emerged, also showed him pushing airport staff down a corridor and pushing a printer down. Despite all this, he was later allowed to board the flight and travel to his destination.
Initial reports had suggested that Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Ashok Gajapathi Raju, who also happened to be at the airport when the incident occurred, had intervened and arranged for a boarding pass for his TDP colleague.
However, taking to Twitter, he denied these claims.
"I will get the entire incident at Vizag Airport enquired into to find out the exact details and ensure that lawful outcomes follow," he tweeted.
I will get the entire incident at Vizag Airport enquired into to find out the exact details and ensure that lawful outcomes follow.
— Ashok Gajapathi Raju (@Ashok_Gajapathi) June 16, 2017
Speaking to ANI, CI Prabhar from the Vizag airport police station said that Gajapathi was present at the airport, but he was in the VIP Lounge when the incident happened.
He also said that they "didn't receive any complaint from IndiGo. A primary enquiry was made but no one came forward."
Meanwhile, the TDP MP is yet to tender an official apology. When confronted by the media, the politician-businessman just repeatedly said 'sorry' with folded hands, before his car sped away.
#WATCH: TDP MP #JCDiwakarReddy says 'sorry' when asked about airlines barring him from travelling, post Vizag airport ruckus pic.twitter.com/PhTgKVDeMX
— ANI (@ANI_news) June 16, 2017
Speaking to NDTV's Uma Sudhir, the lawmaker denied that he assaulted anyone, saying, "There is no need at all for me (to say sorry). There is no sorry at all."
The channel also quoted him saying, "There is no spat, there is no pushing, there is no manhandling or anything. When I called him (official) to come out, he was coming out. I kept my this thing (pointing to his arm) on his shoulder. If you feel that is pushing and assaulting, I can't do anything."
Following the incident, IndiGo had released a statement, and said that the staff had politely informed him that boarding for his flight was closed and offered to accommodate him in a subsequent flight.
"Reddy expressed his annoyance and soon raged against the staff using aggressive and abusive behaviour. IndiGo saw a footage aired by some media personnel -- which shows visual representation of Reddy's aggressive behaviour against the staff and further damaging the airport property," the statement added.
The latest controversy was also not Reddy's first time creating a ruckus at an airport, as a video had emerged in October last year, of the MP manhandling employees at the Gannavaram Airport in Vijayawada.
At that time too, Reddy had arrived after the deadline for issuing boarding passes, and was not allowed to board the plane.
Watch the video of the latest incident below.
#CCTVVisuals: TDP MP JC Diwakar Reddy created ruckus at Visakhapatnam airport today,allegedly raged against staff using aggressive behaviour pic.twitter.com/JqUtcyKq0e
— ANI (@ANI_news) June 15, 2017