Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad has refused to apologise even after public outcry. He said, "The staffer should apologise first. Kayke liye mafi mangu? I will see what to do next
llustration/Uday Mohite
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Air India co-opts private airlines against Shiv Sena MP from Osmanabad, Ravindra Gaikwad, who slapped an AI staffer on Thursday after he was disallowed to fly Business class on what was ironically an all-Economy flight from Pune to Delhi. After AI registered two FIRs against him yesterday, FIA director Ujjwal Dey said AIand other airlines have banned him from flying.
In a press statement, Ujjwal Dey, associate director Federation of India Airlines said, "Air India and FIA member airlines have decided to ban this MP 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."
Gaikwad has refused to apologise even after public outcry. Speaking to TV channels, Gaikwad said, "The staffer should apologise first. Kayke liye mafi mangu? I will see what to do next." Interestingly, Gai-kwad is headed to Pune this afternoon and is likely to fly Air India again. He is believed to have dared the airline to stop him from boarding the flight.
Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad
Yesterday, Gaikwad slapped a 60-year-old staffer, Sukumar Raman, 25 times with his sandal after being denied a business class seat.
Earlier, Air India had received support from IndiGo. "We will support a no-fly list," IndiGo president and whole time director Aditya Ghose said.
Following the controversy, Sena decided not to speak on the issue. Senior MP Sanjay Raut is likely to meet Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray today to decide the party’s stand on the row although Sena members have been telling the media that although resorting to violence isn’t the answer, it needs to be probed if Gaikwad was provoked into taking the extreme step.
His supporters in Osmanabad burnt effigies of Air India this morning.
mid-day’s report in today's morning edition
Congress leader Nitesh Rane said today, "Shiv Sena is a frustrated party, they can’t vent their anger on [Narendra] Modiji or [Devendra] Fadnavisji so they target common people."
Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju said such regrettable incidents should not happen again. “We are also working on creating institutional mechanisms to check undesirable flight behaviour or unruly passengers.”
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