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Foot-in-mouth ministers are a bigger threat than a matchstick

Once I became a Minister of civil aviation, people stopped frisking me: Ashok Gajapathi Raju(Civil Aviation Minister) pic.twitter.com/oKdo1ZLv6R — ANI (@ANI_news) April 7, 2015

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मंत्री हूं, जहाज में माचिस लेकर जाता हूं: अशोक गजपति राजू

NEW DELHI: Union aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Tuesday stoked a controversy by admitting that he often carried matchboxes on flights.And what's more, Ashok Gajapathi Raju went on to brag that being a minister he was not frisked any more and hence, he could now save his lighters and matchboxes.The minister questioned how matchbox could become a security threat."You can't hijack a plane with a matchbox," the minister said, adding, "I haven't come across any incident worldwide where a matchbox had led to any threat.""I am a heavy smoker so my matchboxes came along with me which earlier used to get confiscated," Ashok Gajapathi Raju said at a function of Bureau of civil aviation security at DRDO Bhavan.Aviation rules do not allow anyone to carry matchbox on board flights.However, the minister later speaking to reporters defended his comments.