High drama in RS as Shiv Sena threats fly over flight ban

New Delhi/Mumbai: Decks for embattled Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad to fly again are expected to be cleared after he sent a letter of regret to civil aviation minister Gajapathi Raju for the alleged assault of an Air India employee last month.

The Sena MP was banned from flying by most airlines after he allegedly beat up 60-year-old AI staffer R. Sukumar with slippers over being unable to travel business class on an all-economy flight.

But the regret letter came only after Sena’s MPs — NDA’s ally at the Centre — caused a pandemonium in Parliament and Mr Gaikwad’s defiant speech in the Lok Sabha where he denied attacking any AI employee, and tried to play the victim.

Frenzied Sena MPs, including Union minister Anant Geete, didn’t just create a ruckus but also gheraoed civil aviation minister Gajapathi Raju after he made it clear that there would be “no preferential treatment” for the Sena MP.

The Sena, in turn, threatened to boycott the NDA’s April 10 meeting if the flying ban was not lifted.

Sensing that the civil aviation minister and the Centre were in no mood to budge, Mr Gaikwad, who attended Parliament for the first time after the alleged assault, was constrained to plead with the minister to lift the ban.

“I write to convey my regrets for the unfortunate incident that took place on March 23 on Air India flight AI 852...”, he wrote and added; “It could have been no one’s intention to have let the situation aggravate to the level that it eventually did. While the ongoing investigation will bring out the factual sequence of events to fix responsibility, this incident may kindly not be seen as a reason for likely recurrence of such an event in future also.” He said the ban was “affecting the efficient discharge” of his duties as a Parliamentarian.

So far the civil aviation ministry has not come up with any official response, and said that the ban was “still in force”, and his letter was being “examined.”

Following the chaos, the House had to be adjourned twice. The fury of Sena MPs continued even after the first adjournment. They gheraoed the civil aviation minister and refused to let him leave the House. Mr Geete also banged the minister’s table who remained calm as frantic Sena members kept screaming and shouting at him.

Home minister Rajnath Singh intervened and tried to pacify Sena MPs by assuring that Mr Raju would speak to the “stakeholders to reach an amicable solution.” As the home minister spoke to agitated members, the civil aviation minister was escorted out.

Earlier in the day, after the Sena’s threat that it would stall AI’s operations in Mumbai and Pune, the airline said it would step up security of its staff at both airports.