Congress condemns Raju's confession of carrying matchboxes on plane

Congress general secretary Shakeel Ahmad on Wednesday termed as 'unfortunate' the recent disclosures by Civil Aviation Minister Gajapathi Raju that he carried matchboxes with him on flights since he is not subjected to frisking.

"It is unfortunate if a minister is breaking the law. As a minister and a high dignitary, he is entitled to not be frisked," he told ANI here.

"When I was a minister, even I was not frisked by the security person. But I or no one should carry anything, which is against the law or which breaks the law of the land," he added.

Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and National Conference leader Omar Abdullah also expressed his disapproval on such demeanor.

"The absence of frisking is a courtesy extended, it isn't a relaxation of the rules. Bragging about carrying match boxes on flights is silly," he posted on microblogging site twitter.

The Civil Aviation Minister had earlier sparked off a controversy by admitting that he carried match boxes in airplanes.

During his address at the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) event, Raju had said that before becoming a minister last year, his matchboxes and lighters were confiscated by airport security.

The Civil Aviation Minister added that he had lost all his lighters and matchboxes then.