Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who has been banned from flying by several airlines after he assaulted an Air India staffer on March 23, reached Delhi on Wednesday via a chartered flight to attend the Parliament session. According to a report of Indian Express, Gaikwad flew to Delhi on Wednesday in a chartered plane from Pune airport. Sources confirmed that his flight left at 3 pm from the airport and reached Delhi around 5 pm.
Gaikwad attended the House for the first time after the incident. The Lok Sabha witnessed absolute commotion as Shiv Sena members, including Union Minister Anant Geete, surrounded Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju after he refused to heed to their demand for revoking the flying ban on Ravindra Gaikwad. Geete, a Shiv Sena MP himself charged at the Civil Aviation minister and later threatened that no flight will be allowed to take off from Mumbai.
Gaikwad cried foul on the floor of the Lok Sabha and demanded justice by asking for a legitimate investigation in the matter, while asserting that he will not apologise to the Air India staffer who manhandled him and spoke in an offensive manner about the Prime Minister of the nation.
"I apologise for my behaviour, but I am not apologetic to the airline official who abused and manhandled me, and spoke in a derogatory manner about the Parliamentarians and the Prime Minister," Gaikwad said in Lok Sabha.
The Sena MP was banned from flying by state-owned airlines and private carriers following his alleged manhandling of an Air India staff recently. He is alleged of hitting an Air India employee with his sandal because he was being flown in the economy class despite booking business class seats for his flight 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. Moreover, he had refused to apologise for his behaviour and has so far held that the employee should apologise to him instead.
Last week it was reported that Gaikwad was caught trying to book Air India flight tickets by changing the spelling of his name following the ban.
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