Woman officer stops Union Minister from entering airport through exit gate

Patna: A gutsy woman CISF officer on Tuesday prevented Union minister Ram Kripal Yadav from entering the Patna airport through the exit gate, forcing him to retreat and admit his mistake.

TV channels showed Yadav, Lok Sabha MP from Pataliputra, trying to enter the Jayaprakash Narayan International Airport's terminal building through the exit gate where he was stopped by the woman officer.

After a brief conversation, the officer was seen talking over a walkie-talkie before finally saying 'No' to the Minister of State for Rural Development and Drinking Water. An airport official said she had spoken to her superior.

As TV cameras peerred over the proceedings, Yadav was seen leaving the place without much fuss and even admitting his "mistake".

"Absolutely, it was a mistake," he said when a journalist asked him if it was right for a VIP to misuse his position like that.

"I was in a hurry and made a mistake, trying to enter from the exit gate. But when the lady official asked me to take another gate, I obeyed and entered through the entry gate," he said.

"I did not argue with the officer or say anything to her," he said and lauded the official's commitment to duty.

Yadav had gone to the airport to receive Union Minister Bandaru Dattatreya with whom he was scheduled to attend a programme later in the day.