No words can be too strong to condemn the outrageous behaviour of Continental Airlines towards our former president A P J Abdul Kalam at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi airport on April 21.
No words can be too strong to condemn the outrageous behaviour of Continental Airlines towards our former president A P J Abdul Kalam at New Delhi's Indira Gandhi airport on April 21.
Patently driven by commercial exigency, the airline's apology has come after initial insouciant in-your-face, do-what-you-like muscle-flexing.
Instead of being unqualified, it is unconvincing and half-baked, and obviously seeks refuge behind international securityu00a0 procedures.
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The belated expression of regret is clearly motivated by the fact that the American airline, now in dire financial straits world-wide, simply cannot afford suspension of its flights on lucrative Indian skies.
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Humiliated: As former president, Kalam is exempted from security checks at Indian airports |
Although not all "uproars" in our esteemed Houses are in the best traditions of parliamentary behaviour, it must be said that the outrage expressed by Rajya Sabha members during zero hour on Tuesday was vociferous, but at the same time, conspicuously dignified.
Minister for Civil Aviation Praful Patel termed the frisking of the Bharat Ratna, whom some Rajya Sabha members described as the tallest figure and national hero, "an unpardonable act".
The former scientist-president was reportedly made to undergo a pre-embarkation body check and made to take off his shoes and belt by the airline's lakeer-ke-faqeer security in-charge, country director and station manager before being allowed to board flight CO-083 to Newark, USA.
Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman K Rahman Khan expressed anguish over the incident and the "humiliation" meted out to the self-effacing and internationally respected former president.
Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley termed the incident "outrageous", saying it was an issue that "put the whole nation to shame."
Jaitley added that whenever a foreign dignitary visited the country, the government sent a vehicle to the tarmac and exempted him from security rules.
Sitaram Yechury (CPI-M) wondered whether the frisking of the former President had anything to do with the name Abdul Kalam.
Responding to members' demand for suspension of the airline's operations in India, Patel said a preliminary inquiry had been ordered and notice issued to Continental Airlines asking it to show cause why action should not be taken against it for wilful violation of protocol rules.
Under the law, the punishment is two years imprisonment or fine upto Rs lakh or both, if found guilty.
With the airline failing to respond to its show-cause notice within a week, as required, the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on Tuesday issued a First Information Report against Continental.
The BCAS circular no. 6/2008 exempts specified VIPs from pre-embarkation checks, although it may be argued that not all those granted exemption under it are deserving cases.
The airline can be expected to quote chapter and verse arising out of security compulsions in its response to the show-cause notice, especially in the backdrop of 9/11 in the US and the scourge of terrorism in different parts of the world, including the attack on our own Parliament, the Mumbai bomb blasts and, more recently, 26/11.
Apart from its lame duck apology, Continental is reported to have ironically expressed the hope that the "distinguished customer" (Dr Abdul Kalam), rather than being offended was "pleased by their services".
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The former President, who is humility personified in the Gandhian mould and, at the same time, subscribes to the Christian "turn the other cheek" dictum may not have been offended, but it is highly unlikely he was pleased!
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Significantly, the airline has said that it had only been "following US rules".
Equally significant is the tepid statement of Praful Patel, from whom CPM's firebrand Brinda Karat secured a promise to apologise to Dr Kalam in person.
Even as he assured the House that BCAS "will take the most stringent action" speak to the Minister for External Affairs and express his regrets personally to Dr Kalam, Patel stated that this act of frisking "was beyond the scope of laws of the country".
Responding to Left members' demand that the Indian operation of Continental Airlines be suspended, he said any action would be "in consonance with the international practice and not in isolation".
Any pussyfooting on this issue by the Civil Aviation minister, on the heels of the opposition's charge that the government had succumbed to the US government's muscle flexing over the End-Use Monitoring Agreement (EUMA), would be extremely injudicious.
POSTSCRIPT:
Feelings seem to be running high on the issue. A blogger on a news website writes: "The tongue-in-cheek apology is not worth the paper or media it is tendered in (sic) and (is) grossly inadequate.
"The nation as a whole should rise up and demand that the government throw this arrogant, third-rate airline out of this country with immediate effect.
"If (ex) president Kalam accepts this apology it shows his generosity."
Another says: "This is not the first time an US airline has shown disrespect to Indian political leaders.
Russia never does such things and the US Secretary of State and former President Bill Clinton received a warm welcome in India."
