Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaults Air India employee, BJP MP pays the price

His mistake: he shares his surname with another MP from Maharashtra, Ravindra Gaikwad.

“I was stopped at security points at the airport repeatedly because of my surname and as I’m an MP,” Sunil Gaikwad told news agency ANI.

Sunil Gaikwad, a BJP MP from Latur, on Thursday claimed that he was repeatedly stopped at security check points before boarding a flight. His mistake: he shares his surname with another MP from Maharashtra, Ravindra Gaikwad. “I was stopped at security points at the airport repeatedly because of my surname and as I’m an MP,” Sunil Gaikwad told news agency ANI. The MP also asked whether it was a crime to share a surname. “I have conveyed this to Minister Jayant Sinha. Is having the Gaikwad surname a crime?” he said.

The other Gaikwad, a Shiv Sena MP from Osmanabad, has been in the news for assaulting an Air India employee. This lead to the state-run carrier and six private airlines banning Ravindra Gaikwad from flying on their fleet. The issue was even raised by the Sena MPs in the Parliament, which prompted Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju to back the Air India staff, saying they cannot discriminate between passengers. Sena MP Anandrao Adsul also questioned Air India on why a similar travel ban was not extended to television personality Kapil Sharma, who allegedly misbehaved on a flight after getting drunk.

Earlier, Ravindra Gaikwad was forced to travel by train from Delhi to Pune after his booking was cancelled by Air India and Indigo. The MP tried to book a return ticket but it was cancelled by Air India, again. He reportedly drove down to Delhi in a car, according to news agency PTI.

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On Thursday, the Sena MPs met Speaker Sumitra Mahajan and urged her to ask domestic airlines to withdraw the flying ban imposed on its MP Ravindra Gaikwad for the ongoing budget session. The party said, Gaikwad is also likely to meet the Speaker in a couple of days. “We met the Speaker today and requested her to instruct concerned authorities to withdraw the travel ban imposed on Gaikwad for the ongoing session,” said Rahul Shewale, party MP from South Central Mumbai.

Speaking to reporters outside the Parliament, Shiv Sena MP, Sanjay Raut said: “Behavior of airline companies is like mafia goons. Let the probe complete, then we will know who did what.”

“What has he (Gaikwad) done? The behaviour of the airline companies is like mafia and goons. “An FIR has been lodged against the MP. The MP has also lodged an FIR. The investigation is going on,” Raut said, noting no action should have been taken against Gaikwad before investigation was complete.

“And moreover, the FIR has been lodged and investigation is not yet complete. Who has done what will be clear only after investigation is complete. In this country, till now, dictatorship has not yet started. If they are doing it under pressure from someone, this pressure will also not work for long,” he said.

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Asked whether there should be a fly ban on Gaikwad, he said, “There should not be a fly ban on him. Is he a terrorist? Terrorists, underworld dons, corrupt people can fly in your airlines, but an MP, who is a common man, he would not fly.

With PTI inputs

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