The ruling BJP government has admitted in Parliament that its MP Tejasvi Surya had opened the emergency door of an IndiGo flight, but he did it accidentally. The incident of the emergency door opening made headlines across the country with several opposition leaders urging the government to take action against him. The government's response as a written reply to a question raised by Trinamool Congress MP Mala Roy in the Parliament. 

Tejasvi Surya is a BJP MP from Bangalore South and the president of Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. On December 10, Surya had travelled from Chennai to Trichy in an IndiGo flight along with Tamil Nadu BJP President Annamalai. Surya was seated next to the emergency exit and it has been reported that he had opened the emergency exit ahead of the takeoff. There were about 70 people onboard and Surya's action of opening the emergency exit had caused a major disruption. 

The flight's takeoff was deferred and the Chennai airport authorities had redone the emergency procedures and safety checks again that caused a two-hour delay. After the procedures, the flight took off and Surya was put in the same flight but in a different seat. When the incident came to light in late December, it was reported that Surya had given an apology letter to the airport authorities and that the matter had an intervention from political bigheads from Delhi. 

Surya was allowed to travel in the same flight and by quoting strict actions that were taken against such similar events in the past, the opposition urged the centre and the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) to initiate action against Surya. However, on January 18, Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said that Tejasvi himself reported the incident where he accidentally opened the emergency exit of an IndiGo flight. 

Three weeks after the minister's statement, a question on the incident was raised in the Parliament on Thursday. Trinamool Congress MP Mala Roy asked whether the government through DGCA has identified the passenger who illegally opened the emergency door of a flight in Chennai. Tabling a written response to Roy's question, the government has said that Surya had accidentally opened the emergency exit and the airline didn't find the passenger in violation of any rule. 

Union Minister of State for Civil Aviation VK Singh said, "As per the report submitted by InterGlobe Aviation Limited, which operates IndiGo, the name of the passenger alleged in the incident is Shri Tejasvi Surya who had boarded flight 6E- 7339 (Chennai to Trichy) at Chennai Airport on December 10, 2022. The emergency door opened accidentally as clarified by InterGlobe Aviation Limited. This was not a deliberate action and as per InterGlobe Aviation, they did not find the passenger to be in violation of any rule."

Responding to whether DGCA has taken any action, VK Singh said as per the Civil Aviation Requirements- regarding Notification of incidents and investigation thereof, the occurrence didn't come under the category of reportable occurrence. The matter was investigated by the concerned airline. The occurrence took place while the aircraft was on ground and the flight departed only after completing all the safety checks/ protocols."