Legislators from across party lines congratulated Ravindra Gaikwad after he assaulted an Air India staffer, a senior politician claimed to The Sunday Guardian. “I don’t think he will face much action. He received calls from so many legislators congratulating him for his act. They slammed the behaviour of the staffers of the national carrier,” a senior politician told The Sunday Guardian on the condition of anonymity. Within hours, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut asked why Air India could not improve their services as quickly as they banned Gaikwad from flying. “It is not just the MPs, but thousands of people, who go through mental and physical stress due to the airliner’s pathetic services,” he told the media.
In the given circumstances and statements by the Shiv Sena leaders, it looks clear that Ravindra Gaikwad might get away lightly, and might not face any party action.
Sources within the party told the correspondent that the party cannot afford to snub him. “He has been instrumental in expanding and retaining Shiv Sena’s foothold in Osmanabad. He has been getting elected from there for consecutive terms. Earlier, he was the MLA twice. Now, he is an MP. His clout in the area is so much that nobody else can stand in front of him. He snatched that area from the Nationalist Congress Party, and brought it to the Sena. He continues to keep the Sena flag flying high there. So it is difficult to initiate any action against him,” a senior Shiv Sena leader told The Sunday Guardian on the condition of anonymity. The party, instead, has asked Gaikwad to “mind his behaviour”.
It seems even Ravindra Gaikwad is quite confident about his position in the party. “Police can arrest me. My party, Uddhav Saheb will take care of it,” he is reported to have told journalists in New Delhi. He also remained unrepentant. In various TV interviews, he boasted about how he had hit the AI staffer with his slipper 25 times. “Why should I apologise? The staffer should come and apologise to me for his behaviour,” he said. Gaikwad was forced to travel in economy class from Pune to Delhi despite holding a business class ticket. Miffed by the alleged “callous” attitude of Air India while addressing his complaint, he lost his cool.
In an exemplary action, the Federation of Indian Airlines and Air India issued a joint statement declaring ban on the parliamentarian. Besides Air India, the airlines that will not allow Gaikwad to fly are IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet, Go Air, AirAsia and Vistara.
“Air India and the member airlines of the Federation of Indian Airlines (FIA) that includes IndiGo, Jet Airways, SpiceJet and Go Air, condemn the assault on an Air India staff member by a passenger who happens to be a Member of Parliament on March 23, 2017. The airlines demand that strict action be taken against the Member of Parliament by law enforcement agencies. We believe that an assault on any one of our employees is an assault on all of us and on ordinary law abiding citizens of our country who work hard to earn a living,” said Ujjwal Dey, Associate Director of Federation of Indian Airlines.
“Air India and FIA member airlines have decided to ban this Member of Parliament from flying on all our flights with immediate effect. We believe that exemplary action should be taken in such incidents to protect employee morale and public safety. In the interest of the safety and security of our colleagues and other customers we also propose the promulgation of a ‘no fly’ list which shall include the names of all unruly passengers. Such customers are not welcome on our carriers and we seek the support of the Government and security agencies to enforce such a ‘no fly’ list,” he added.