BJP MP and former union Rajiv Pratap Rudy in his pilot's uniform
New Delhi: DMK MP and former Union Minister Dayanidhi Maran was in for a pleasant surprise when it transpired that the captain of the flight he boarded from New Delhi to Chennai was fellow parliamentarian Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
When Maran boarded the IndiGo flight 6E864 from Delhi to Chennai after attending a meeting of the parliamentary Estimates Committee, he took his seat in the first row, and the crew declared that the flight was ready for take off. But take off it did, not before a stranger-looking man in the Captain's uniform accosted him, "So you are travelling in this flight as well!".
Maran recalls in his tweet, " I could not recognize him with his mask on, although his voice sounded familiar. I nodded my head, still wondering who it could be."
"He looked at me and his eyes gave away the smile behind the mask. 'So you don't recognize me!' he exclaimed. I realized then that it was none other than my colleague, senior member of parliament and former Union Minister - my very good friend Thiru Rajiv Pratap Rudy."
Maran naturally called it "A flight to remember, July 13, 2021" in his tweet describing what happened on board.
"Just 2 hours ago, he and I were part of intense discussions at the Estimates Committee and now I couldn't believe my eyes, seeing his transformation from a politician to a pilot," the DMK MP said.
"I was pleasantly surprised and told Rudyji that I couldn't believe that he was going to be the captain flying us from Delhi to Chennai. He laughed and said 'Yes, I noticed that you didn't recognize me, I fly frequently'."
Maran said: "I could only say that I was honoured to be flown by my good friend and colleague. Rudyji also served as a Minister of State, when my father was the Union Minister for Commerce.
"A flight to remember indeed. How often does a sitting Member of Parliament captain a commercial flight? I'm sure I will be talking about this for a long time. Thank you Captain @RajivPratapRudy, MP for flying us safely from Delhi to Chennai."
Rudy, who is Lok Sabha MP from Saran Chapra in Bihar, takes to the cockpit as hononary pilot only to meet the requirement to fly a certain number of hours to retain his commercial flying licence.
(With IANS inputs)