Chandigarh, Sep 28 Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal on Sunday urged Union Civil Aviation Minister Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu to ensure exemplary punishment to Air India staff members who allegedly humiliated and insulted a Sikh passenger, besides stressing the need to sensitise airline staff not to pick on articles of faith of passengers.
In a letter to the Union Minister, the Bathinda MP said a Sikh passenger, Jeewan Singh, from Tamil Nadu, was humiliated and insulted by Air India staffers at the New Delhi international airport when he was scheduled to board a flight for Singapore on Wednesday.
She explained that Jeewan Singh, who had embraced Sikhism in 2023 and sported an unshorn beard, was humiliated and harassed on the basis of his perceived appearance, which was not to the liking of the Air India staffers.
Harsimrat Badal said going against all rules and regulations, the staffers asked Jeewan Singh questions like "why are you going to Singapore, how much money do you have in hand, show your bank account details, why are you wearing a turban and from which caste did you convert to Sikhism".
Asserting that such questions were not in the ambit of professional conduct and smacked of discrimination on the basis of appearance, the MP requested a thorough probe into the entire incident and strict punishment to all those who had hurt the religious sentiments of Jeewan Singh, besides subjecting him to unwarranted harassment.
She also requested the minister to give directions to Air India to sensitise its staff about the articles of faith of the Sikh community to ensure no Sikh was subjected to this kind of discrimination in the future.
"These directions should also be included in the standard operating procedures of the airline," she added.
She requested that Air India tender an unqualified apology to Jeewan Singh to send a clear signal that the actions of its staff did not reflect the thinking of the airline, which had the turbaned Maharaja as its mascot.
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