Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan criticized Air India on Saturday after being allotted a “broken” seat on his flight from Bhopal to Delhi. In a social media post, the senior BJP leader claimed that airline staff had already informed management about the seat’s condition and that it should not have been sold.
The Tata Group-owned airline responded with an apology and assured that it was investigating the matter to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Chouhan, who was traveling to Delhi for the “Kisan Mela” inauguration, shared his experience on X (formerly Twitter), saying he was assigned seat 8C, which he found to be broken and uncomfortable.
“When I sat, I found the seat was broken and sunk. It was uncomfortable to sit. Not just mine, but many seats were in poor condition,” he wrote in Hindi. Despite fellow passengers offering to switch seats, he chose to complete the journey in the same seat.
The former Madhya Pradesh chief minister also expressed disappointment over Air India’s post-privatization service standards, referencing the Air India-Vistara merger.
“I thought Air India’s service would improve after the Tata takeover, but that turned out to be a misconception,” he wrote, adding that charging passengers full price for faulty seats was unethical.
The Congress party took the opportunity to target the government, posting on X, “Passengers are troubled in trains, distressed in planes. Complaints and videos keep surfacing, but no action is taken. Now that Shivraj ji has faced the issue, maybe something will be done.”
Air India acknowledged Chouhan’s complaint, responding, “We would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you. Kindly DM us a convenient time to connect.” The airline also assured that the matter was being investigated to prevent such issues in the future.
This incident comes amid increasing complaints about Air India’s service quality, raising concerns over passenger experience and airline accountability.
