Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu Halted at the Chennai Airport Apparently Having Two Laptops

Earlier Thursday morning, at 5.50 a.m., dramatic scenes unfolded at the Chennai Airport following Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan being purportedly halted by a CISF official reportedly possessing two laptops. The minister was on his way to Thoothukudi and had brought his bag to the domestic terminal to be scanned.

As per sources, the employee warned the minister that a passenger could not carry two laptops, to which the latter answered that no such restriction existed. Senior airport authorities hurried to the scene and apologized to Thiagarajan after his name was revealed. It was also discovered that the issue could have been created by a misunderstanding.

A Chennai airport official stated that it is a matter of misunderstanding. The CISF sub-inspector must have mistakenly assumed the minister only had one laptop and requested him to keep it on the tray, which the minister misinterpreted. The CISF officer's Tamil may not have been apparent because he is from north India. Authorities reviewed the video and found no evidence of the security checkpoint incident that had been reported. Higher-ranking airport officials promptly went to the minister and apologized.

It may be remembered that in August 2020, DMK MP Kanimozhi voiced a similar complaint while waiting for a flight to Delhi at the Chennai airport. She claimed on Twitter that when she begged the lady official to talk in Tamil or English, a CISF official asked if she was an Indian. On Twitter, Kanimozhi tweeted and explained that the show would like to know when being Indian equals learning Hindi. #hindiimposition. Subsequently, the CISF demanded further information on the occurrence and said that it would launch an investigation.