Union Minister of State for Home Kiren Rijiju says 'no one de-boarded' from flight because of him
A day after apologising over a family being ordered off a flight to make place for him, Union Minister Kiren Rijiju told reporters: "No one had to de-board flight because of me."
Mr Rijiju, the Union Minister of State for Home, is facing an avalanche of criticism for "VIP behaviour" that saw an Air India flight to Delhi being held up for about an hour at the sensitive Leh airport in Jammu and Kashmir to accommodate him and the state's deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh.
On Thursday, Mr Rijiju had told NDTV that he was ready to apologise to the passengers - an Indian Foreign Service officer and his family - who were off-loaded because of him.
Today, however, he said: "That was fake news. Nobody was de-boarded because of me. So ultimately, it becomes fake news."
Mr Rijiju has maintained that he never delayed the plane and that the flight was advanced without notice. His claim has been countered by an Indian Air Force report that says the pilot was instructed to delay the flight "to accommodate a VIP". The plane, which had been shut for take-off, reopened its door to let in the ministers.
Nirmal Singh has officially complained against the pilot, saying he was rude. Amid spiraling anger over their "VIP muscle-flexing," Mr Singh has stepped up his attack on the pilot.
"The pilot comes, opens the door and comes down the stairs like a don. He keeps one leg on a glass step and talks to us. I said I have a boarding card and we have to go. He said the flight was to leave one hour ago. We said the airline has given us a boarding pass - what should we do? He said come and led us in. He behaved like anyone would behave with passengers on a local bus," Mr Singh told NDTV.
The prime minister's office has responded to national outrage by seeking a report on flights being delayed by so-called VIPs.