Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad who misbehaved with an Air India employee was on Friday barred from flying by all airlines. Thereafter, his pre-booked ticket for Pune was cancelled by both Air India and Indigo. Agitated by the treatment meted out to its MP, Shiv Sena will be bringing a privilege motion in Parliament against major airlines for including him on the no-fly list.
The party has also called for a bandh in Ravindra Gaikwad’s constituency Osmanabad. Set to raise the matter in Lok Sabha, the Sena had even claimed that several political parties are supporting Gaikwad.
But does the MP deserve this support? Shouldn’t the Shiv Sena be acting against the erring MP for misbehaving with an Air India staffer who was just performing his duty?
It was not just verbally that he had abused the Air India official. The ‘drunk on power’ MP had even physically assaulted the 60-year-old duty manager with his slippers. All because the manager denied him a business class seat on a Pune-New Delhi Air India all economy flight.
Also read: I dare police to arrest me, says Shiv Sena MP on scuffle with Air India staffer
Refusing to apologise for the incident, the MP had, in fact, asked the Air India employee to apologise: “Why should I be sorry? I will not apologise. He (Sukumar) should come and apologise. Then we will see. A 60-year-old man should know how to behave,” Gaikwad had said.
Backing the party MP, Shiv Sena gave a notice for discussion in the zero hour in Parliament where party members stood strong in support of Gaikwad. Defending him, they even claimed that he is not the first one to have done so. “Even Kapil Sharma misbehaved on flight after getting drunk but no ban imposed on him. Putting a ban on him by airlines is not good. I think the MP’s will support us on this,” Shiv Sena’s Anandrao Adsul said while speaking in Lok Sabha.
Shiv Sena’s support is raising several questions in the minds of the people
@AUThackeray what kind of people do you have ? These mindless dolts? #ShivSena is proving to be a #goonda party and losing all respect. https://t.co/o3jkxSVPyH
— Gautam (@normally_crazy) March 27, 2017
Wow this is India! Apparently #RavindraGaikwad was humiliated and so everyone else is forced by @ShivSena should shut shop #VVIPs #AirIndia https://t.co/gSQuYAywSi
— Anant Kansal (@anantkansal) March 27, 2017
@TimesNow ONLY IN OUR COUNTRY can parties like Shiv Sena survive with dadagiri, lies, falsehood, arrogance and audacity.
— GOPALAKRISHNAN RAMAS (@studentworks211) March 27, 2017
And it’s not just him. Samajwadi Party member Naresh Agarwal also feels it is the mistake of Air India and not this MP.
MP naresh Agarwal thinks air india showed dada Giri and what the shiv sena MP did was an act of love.
Amazing— Mayank Rai (@rai8167) March 27, 2017
Though there were reports that Sena president Uddhav Thackeray had sought an explanation from him over the incident, the constant support of the party to the MP gives a totally different view. While the MP used foul language, hit the man with slippers and snatched his glasses, it was the effigy of the Air India staffer that was also burnt by Sena workers in Tuljapur.
From what it looks, the statement by Shiv Sena spokesperson Manisha Kayande that the party has taken the incident seriously and that they do not subscribe to such instances, just seems to be a hollow and baseless claim made by a party which is endorsing VIP culture in the country.
