'Respect local languages...' Telangana Minister KTR asks IndiGo after a Twitter post goes viral

A professor at IIM tweeted that the woman aboard IndiGo 6E 7297 was originally sitting in 2A (XL seat, exit row) was forced to shift to seat 3C because she understood only Telugu, not English/Hindi.

Image for representation

After a tweet from an IIM professor on unprofessional behaviour by cabin crew went viral, Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao has asked IndiGo to respect local languages. Recenlty a tweet was shared by Devasmita Chakraverty, an assistant professor of education at Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad stating that the cabin crew aboard 6E 7297 asked a woman who was originally sitting in 2A (XL seat, exit row) to seat at 3C Aisle seat because she understood only Telugu language and not English or Hindi.

The post went viral on Twitter Rama Rao reacted to the incident which occurred on the Vijayawada-Hyderabad IndiGo flight on September 16. As per guidelines laid by DGCA, passengers seated at the emergency seats are to be informed about the possible dangers and measures in case of an emergency and in each flight, cabin crew brief passengers and take their consent to be seated on the emergency row.

Devasmita Chakraverthy, who posted a photograph with her tweet, called the incident a discrimination. Reacting to her tweet, TRS leader and Telangana minister Rama Rao requested IndiGo management to start respecting local languages and passengers who may not be well conversant in English or Hindi in regional routes.

Indigo 6E 7297. Vijayawada (AP) to Hyderabad (Telangana), Sept 16-2022. The woman in green originally sitting in 2A (XL seat, exit row) was forced to seat 3C because she understood only Telugu, not English/Hindi. The attendant said it's a security issue. #discrimination @IndiGo6E pic.twitter.com/bHa8hQj5vz

— Devasmita Chakraverty, PhD, MPH (@DevasmitaTweets) September 17, 2022

"Dear @IndiGo6E Management, I request you to start respecting local languages & passengers who may not be well conversant in English or Hindi In regional routes, recruit more staff who can speak the local language like Telugu, Tamil, Kannada etc. This will be a win-win solution," wrote KTR, as the minister is popularly known.

KTR received support from Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra. "Short haul European flights ex London all have attendants who are native language speakers," she tweeted. The minister's tweet sparked a debate. Some Twitter users agreed with him while others found fault for turning it into a language issue.

"This is because the persons in the exit row seats need to be extra vigilant and support in an emergency by opening the door, communicating with others etc. It is unfair to showcase it as a language issue," wrote a Twitter user Subbaraju.