FIR against Shiv Sena MP who hit Air India staff 25 times with slipper

New Delhi: Air India on Thursday registered two FIRs against Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad for hitting an Air India staff Sukumar with his slipper over sitting issue and for forcibly holding the flight and delaying it for 40 minutes.

A Deputy General Manager (DGM) of Air India has submitted the inquiry report corroborating the incident and is examining creation of no-fly list of unruly passengers, said Air India spokesperson.

The Sena leader, however, has written to the Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan while listing out the problems faced by him in the flight.

In his letter, Gaikwad said that he was misled by Air India and stated that he was given a business class ticket, but only later came to know that there was no business class section in the flight.

"If there was no business class available then why was Air India is booking flight for it? I had complained about this in Delhi Airport. But the management started misbehaving with me and said we have seen a number of MPs like you and even threatened to complain to the Prime Minister," stated the letter sent by Gaikwad.

Gaikwad also added that the flight was not well maintained as there was no TV, towel or tissue paper.

Meanwhile, the Congress Party while condemning the act said that the Shiv Sena has time and again been involved in such violent acts.

"This is not the first time when Shiv Sena MP R. Gaikwad has been involved in violence. The Shiv Sena has time and again showed a culture of violence. My only question is will the Speaker of Parliament take action against him," said Congress leader Shehzad Poonawalla.

Poonawalla also said that it would be important to see whether Air India will be allowed to take action against the MP and take the matter forward or not.

"Will the Shiv Sena sack this MP and if they do not sack him it means that they agree with the action and they justify his actions," he said.

Another Congress leader Pradeep Bhattacharya said Gaikwad's does not showcase the VVIP culture, adding it is just Shiv Sena's culture.

"This must be the Shiv Sena's culture, but this is not a culture of any other party. If he had any issue, he should have protested while the ticket was issued to him. It is not justified to hit the Air India staffer," Bhattacharya told ANI.

Earlier in the day, an adamant Gaikwad bragged about hitting an Air India staffer followed by a business class sitting issue.

"Yes, I had hit the staff. Do you expect me to hear their abuses quietly? What should have I done? He first misbehaved with me," Gaikwad told ANI.

Meanwhile, the Air India staffer, who was hit by Gaikwad, said that the MP hit him and used bad words and humiliated him in front of the entire crew.

"When I told him what he (Gaikwad) is asking isn't possible, he became abusive and started using foul language. God save our country if this is the culture and behaviour of our MPs," the Air India staffer said.

Gaikwad was travelling from Pune to New Delhi when the scuffle broke out over the sitting arrangement.

The MP claimed that his ticket was for business class but Air India provided him economy class.