In a unexpected turn of events, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan was stopped by a CISF man for carrying two laptops on Thursday morning. He was on his way to board a 6 am flight to Thoothukudi. According to reports, the official had reportedly told the minister that a passenger cannot carry two laptops while the latter replied that there was no such rule. However, when Thiagarajan’s identity came to the fore, senior airport officials rushed to the spot and apologised to him.
It also emerged that the confusion may have been caused because of miscommunication. “It is a case of miscommunication. The CISF sub-inspector must have thought the minister had one laptop, and not two, and asked him to keep it on the tray, which the minister misunderstood. Since the CISF officer is from north India, his Tamil might have not been clear. We saw the footage and there was no issue at the security check as is being reported. The higher officials at the airport immediately went there and apologised to the minister. The CISF officer has also tendered his apology,” an official from the Chennai airport said. It may be recalled that in August last year DMK MP Kanimozhi had faced harassment by CISF officer who has allegedly questioned the nationality of her for not knowing Hindi at the Chennai Airport.