Shiv Sena MPs on Monday demanded lifting of the ban imposed by various airlines on party lawmaker Ravindra Gaikwad, but the government said airlines had the right to refuse a passenger if they found his "demeanour" to be incorrect.
The issue was raised in the Lok Sabha by Sena member Anandrao Adsul, who demanded the ban should be lifted.
"There was some dispute; he had beaten an Air India staffer. I agree it is wrong. Air India has filed a police complaint and we will accept whatever the result is, that is not a problem," Adsul said.
"The problem is all airlines have restricted him. The Constitution says people can go anywhere in the country. If there is one incident and all airlines ban him, it is wrong," he said.
Adsul referred to reports relating to actor Kapil Sharma's altercation during a flight from Australia.
"He (Sharma) was not banned; only an inquiry is on against him. But a person who represents the people -- and when the (Parliament) session is on -- has been banned," the Sena leader said.
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In response, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapati Raju said he in his "wildest dream" did not expect that an MP would indulge in violence on a flight and there cannot be unequal treatment of people of different classes.
He said the MP was also a passenger and violence of any kind on a flight can turn into a disaster.
Raju said airlines have been empowered to deny boarding to any passenger whose demeanour was not proper.
"I am talking out of memory. Around November 2014, there was a lot of discussion and a civil aviation requirement was put out by the government which had to do with demeanour of a person," Raju said.
"Because violence of any kind can be a disaster in civil aviation, so the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, which is the regulator for air safety, gave a civil aviation requirement which empowered the airlines to deny boarding to any passenger. It is not denying boarding to an MP, it is to any passenger whose demeanour is incorrect," the Minister added.
"Now that the honourable MP has raised it, we can't have unequal treatment of people of different classes. But we would need to interact with people, make them aware keeping safety in mind. We can't compromise safety in airlines," Raju said.
The issue was also sought to be raised in the Rajya Sabha by Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agrawal, who asked if airlines can ban an MP from travelling.
However, he was not allowed to raise the issue by Deputy Chairman P.J. Kurien on the grounds that the issue pertained to a member of the other house.
Agrawal later told CNN News 18 that the media was trying to spoil the image of politicians.
He also complained about media conducting trials and passing judgments.
Asked about the offence committed by the MP, Agrawal said there were provisions in the law to deal with the matter.
Gaikwad, who represents Osmanabad in Maharashtra, on Thursday repeatedly beat up an Air India Duty Manager with a slipper after he was made to travel in economy class from Pune to Delhi despite holding a business class ticket.
There was no business class in the flight. The incident happened when flight AI852 from Pune reached Delhi around 10.30 a.m.
Air India later refused to fly him and other airlines followed suit. An FIR was also registered against the Sena MP.
--IANS
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