Political leaders across party lines condemned Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's unruly behaviour with an Air India staffer.
Cutting across party lines, the Congress, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Janata Dal (United) on Saturday condemned Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad's unruly behaviour with an Air India staffer and said that he should immediately tender an apology as such attitude is not acceptable from a lawmaker.
"Gaikwad deserves this. As a Member of Parliament, his attempt to justify his actions is extremely shocking," Congress leader Tom Vadakkan said.
He added that the entire Airlines industry of the country has for the first time united to isolate such unruly Member of Parliament which should not be ignored. "The Government of India should have acted in Delhi itself and arrested him, on the contrary they let him travel to Maharashtra where he is going to create further problems," Vadakkan said.
Janata Dal (United) spokesperson KC Tyagi on his part said Gaikwad's action is not appropriate as a Member of Parliament, adding he should, therefore, immediately apologise.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Om Mathur echoing similar sentiments said any person holding such an important post should look after the people and not harass them. "Law will do its job and moreover an FIR has been lodged against him," Mathur added.
After being barred by all the airlines, Gaikwad took a train to Mumbai on Friday. Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.
The MP from Osmanabad in Maharashtra had yesterday downplayed reports suggesting that Air India is considering banning him from boarding its flights. "I have the tickets, they can't blacklist me. I will board the Delhi-Pune Air India flight this evening. How can they not allow me?" he said. "I will not apologise. It was not my fault, it was his fault. He should apologise. First ask him to apologise then we will see," Gaikwad told the media.
Air India Duty Manager Sukumar, who was assaulted by Gaikwad, yesterday asserted that the elected representatives need to behave in a decent manner. "I am not scared at all, either with Gaikwad or with the Shiv Sena. I have been serving public and have also faced many who get irritated on such issues. It's a common thing for me," he added.
Earlier, the Centre also took cognizance of the incident and assured a thorough probe into the matter.
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 "Ravindra Gaikwad")
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