Mumbai: Ravindra Gaikwad, a first time Member of Parliament of Shiv Sena from Osmanabad constituency in Marathwada grabbed media attention on Thursdayfor allegedly beating an Air India staffer with his sandals. Gaikwad bragged about his ‘actions’ while speaking to TV channels. He even mentioned that he hit the AI staffer with his sandal 25 times. Shiv Sena has not supported the behaviour of the MP but said that his side should also be heard and that he is a “very police person”. Sources said that Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has already sought an explanation from Gaikwad.
It may be mentioned here that an election affidavit filed by Mr Gaikwad for the 2014 Lok Sabha polls shows seven cases against him, including some criminal cases. Mr Gaikwad allegedly assaulted the AI staffer during an argument over being asked to travel economy despite having a business class coupon. The flight the MP took had only economy seats.
Mr Gaikwad has also been an MLA from Shiv Sena and is known as a loyal party worker. He was a professor at a college in Osmanabad before entering active politics. In the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, he defeated Nationalist Congress Party’s (NCP) senior leader Padmasinh Patil. Though Mr Gaikwad has admitted to hitting the AI employee, sources in the Sena said he is a “very polite person”.
However, an election affidavit filed by Mr Gaikwad for the Lok Sabha polls shows seven cases against him. Under the cognisable cases section, it shows Mr Gaikwad has been booked under Indian Penal Code sections 143, 341, 147,148,149, 37, 336, 304, 506, 427, which cover crimes including causing death by negligence, endangering life or personal safety of others, rioting, wrongful restraint, unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation, etc.
Shiv Sena MP Anil Desai said the party does not endorse such a behaviour in public. “Gaikwad was very polite and had booked a ticket for business class. He just questioned the crew when (he was) asked to seat in the economy class. He even waited for another crewmember to speak to him. But the person asked him if Gaikwad was Modi. Gaikwad is a professor and does not have any such record in the past. But we will look into the matter,” Mr Desai said.
