Air India staff assault: Shiv Sena calls for shutdown in Ravindra Gaikwad’s Osmanabad constituency
Party workers held rallies in support of the MP, who had assaulted an employee of the airline multiple times with his shoe last week.
The Shiv Sena on Monday called for a shutdown in the state’s Osmanabad constituency, in support of its MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who had assaulted an Air India staffer with a shoe on Thursday. Party workers also held motorbike rallies in Umarga town in Gaikwad’s support.
Gaikwad represents the party in the Lok Sabha from the Osmanabad seat. The saffron party had had sought an explanation from the MP for his actions. While a few party leaders said they should judge Gaikwad only after ascertaining why he lashed out at the 60-year-old Air India staffer, other said the Sena did not condone such behaviour. Shiv Sena President appeared to dissociate himself from the incident when he postponed his meeting with Gaikwad, which was scheduled for Saturday.
Maharashtra: Shiv Sena gives a shutdown call in Osmanabad in support of Ravindra Gaikwad. He had assaulted an Air India employee on flight. pic.twitter.com/nwQau7vRHn
— ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017
Shiv Sena supporters hold bike rally in Maharashtra's Omerga in support of party MP Ravindra Gaikwad pic.twitter.com/rrmC62fLVo
— ANI (@ANI_news) March 27, 2017
The MP on Sunday had said that a senior party leader had asked him to not speak to the media till Thursday. “I will come to Umarga [a town in his Osmanabad constituency] on Tuesday to celebrate Marathi New Year ‘Gudi Padwa’ with my family and Shiv Sainiks. I will then attend a Lok Sabha session [in New Delhi] on Wednesday,” he told PTI.
The Osmanabad MP had been untraceable since he got off the Mumbai-bound train from New Delhi before it reached the destination. Party officials had told PTI that he had disembarked in Vapi, Gujarat.
Gaikwad had been forced to take the train after Air Indian and the Federation of Indian Airlines, which includes IndiGo, SpiceJet, GoAir and Jet Airways, banned him from their flights. Air India has lodged FIRs against the MP for attacking their employee multiple times with his slipper during a discussion about seating arrangements on Thursday. The Centre, however, said that it will review the legality of the airline adding him to a no-fly list.
The first-time MP from Maharashtra said he had hit the employee 25 times with his sandal because he was flown in the economy class repeatedly despite booking business class seats for his flights from Pune to Delhi. However, Air India said the plane he had chosen to fly on was economy-only, and that he had refused to take a different flight.
