New Delhi, Feb 22 (Reporter) In an unusual development, Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Saturday went public to highlight problems that Air India continues to offer even after being sold to the Tata Group as he was allotted a “broken” seat on a flight. A four-time Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh said it was “unethical to make passengers sit on bad and uncomfortable seats after charging them the full amount” and questioned whether it was not “cheating” the passengers. "My impression was that Air India's service would have improved after Tata took over the management, but it turned out to be my misconception," the Agriculture Minister wrote in a seven-paragraph post on X. Chouhan, a four-time Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh, said he was booked on an Air India flight (AI436) today and was allotted seat number 8C. “I sat on the seat broken and sunk from inside. It was uncomfortable to sit,” he wrote. "When I asked the airline staff why the seat was allotted at all when it was damaged, they told me that the management had been informed earlier that this seat was not good and its ticket should not be sold. It is not the only one but there are more such seats," Chouhan said. He said his co-passengers requested him to change his seat, but he preferred to complete the journey by sitting on the seat allotted to him. Air India was a State-run national carrier before the debt-ridden airline was sold to the Tata Group for around USD 2.4 billion and handed over in January 2022. While putting the airline in the dock, Chouhan asked, "Will the Air India management take steps to ensure that no passenger faces such inconvenience in future, or will it continue to take advantage of the passengers' compulsion to reach their destination early?" Former Union Minister and senior BJP leader Rajeev Chandrasekhar also slammed Air India saying in a post on X that Tatas' takeover of Air India has created a situation of reducing competition and consumer choice in full service airlines. "If it was anyone else other than the polite, gentleman minister @ChouhanShivraj ji, person would have created a justified angry response to this kind of incident," he said. He further wrote, "Tatas takeover of @airindia has created a situation of reducing competition and consumer choice in full service airlines - which leads to complacency and chalta hai! Suggest @TataCompanies address this warpspeed - else regulator/Govt will need to start looking at consumer interest as a regulatory outcome in addition to safety." Responding to Agriculture Minister's 'broken seat' complain, Air India apologised for the inconvenience caused. "Please be rest assured that we are looking into this matter carefully to prevent any such occurrences in the future. We would appreciate the opportunity to speak with you, kindly DM us a convenient time to connect," the airline's reply read. Meanwhile, Civil Aviation Minister Ram Mohan Naidu has directed Air India to immediately take necessary action in the matter. Additionally, aviation regulator Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has also swung into action...////...