'1st Class Not Your Right': SpiceJet Flyer Argues With Pragya Thakur for Delaying Flight, Twitter Hails 'Hero'

New Delhi: A viral video of a SpiceJet passenger arguing with Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Thakur, who held up a Bhopal-bound flight over the allotment of seats, has won praise on social media, with Twitterati hailing the man as a ‘hero’.

On Saturday, the Bhopal lawmaker reportedly held up the Delhi-Bhopal SG2489 flight for about 45 minutes after she was asked by the crew to move to a non-emergency row seat as she was on a wheelchair but she refused.

While some restless passengers requested Thakur to change her seat, a few others asked the crew to offload her, the airline's spokesperson said.

In the video, passengers can be seen confronting the BJP MP and reminding her that she is people’s representative and her job is not to “trouble them”. As the arguments escalate, Thakur is heard saying: "I said it at the beginning itself that show me your rulebook. If I don't feel comfortable, I will go.”

To this, a man tells her: “You are people's representative. Your job is not to trouble us. You should come by the next flight."

Thakur then argues why she should go when there is “no first class, no facilities”, only to get a retort from him that “first class is not her right”. “You should have the moral compass that even if one person is getting troubled because of you, you should own up because you are the leader. You are not ashamed that you have held 50 people at ransom," the man tells her.

When Thakur complains about the language used, the flyer replied: "I am using absolutely correct language."

The Bhopal MP had filed a complaint with the Bhopal Airport director, alleging that she was not allotted the seat that she had booked on the flight and the conduct of the airline crew was not right.

On Sunday, the airline issued a clarification saying Thakur was not allowed to sit on the pre-allotted seat as rules do not allow a 'passenger on wheelchairs’ to be seated in the emergency row due to safety reasons.

"SpiceJet had the privilege to have Pragya Thakur on board on December 21. She had pre-booked seat 1A and had come to the airport in her own wheelchair. The Delhi-Bhopal flight is operated by Bombardier Q400 aircraft (78 seats). On this aircraft, the first row is the emergency row seat and is not allocated to passengers on wheelchairs," the statement by SpiceJet read.

Twitter, meanwhile, hailed the passenger for confronting the leader.