Defiant Diwakar flies to Paris, won’t apologise

Telugu Desam Party MP J.C. Diwakar Reddy, who was banned by all major Indian airlines for his alleged rogue behaviour with IndiGo airlines at Visakhapatnam airport on Thursday, refused to tender an apology and flew out of the country to Paris on a two-week long vacation Friday night. He took an Emirates flight from RGI airport at Shamshabad in Hyderabad.

Reddy was adamant on his stand that he had done no wrong at the Vizag airport and refused to tender an apology to the IndiGo staff, despite best efforts of TDP leaders led by Rajya Sabha MP C.M. Ramesh, for the last two days. Ramesh wanted Diwakar Reddy to issue a single line statement regretting what had happened at the airport.

Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu gave up on taking action against Diwakar Reddy as the MP threatened to resign from Parliament if he was pushed beyond a point. “Self-respect is important to me and I have not done any wrong. It is IndiGo airlines which had overbooked the flight and failed to give me a seat,” Diwakar Reddy told Ramesh, according to TDP sources who spoke to this newspaper.

Diwakar Reddy is learnt to have expressed his anger over the TDP leadership for not coming to his rescue in the whole episode.  Reddy, a former Congress veteran who joined the TDP three years ago, is known for his firebrand statements that embarass the leadership sometimes. Reddy is unhappy with the unhelpful attitude of Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju too. Reddy skipped a meeting of all TDP leaders including MPs, MLAs and MLCs called by CM Naidu at Amaravati on Saturday, by leaving for Paris. Naidu wanted to make Diwakar Reddy tender a regret message to the airlines, but now the issue will remain pending till the MP returns to India. TDP leaders are afraid that the issue might figure in the monsoon session of Parliament.