On March 23, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad assaulted a 60-year old Air India staffer, hitting the employee 25 times with his sandal. The MP’s aggressive behaviour accompanied by the use of lewd language has sparked intense public outrage and social media furore. Due to this unruly behaviour, he has been blacklisted by Air India and the Federation of Indian Airlines that includes SpiceJet, GoAir, IndiGo and Jet Airways.
Unfortunately, the MP feels there is no reason to repent and has refused to apologise. In fact, he has asked Air India to apologise for bringing “ignominy” to him. Shiv Sena has come out in support of MP RavindraGaikwad. While saying that the party does not endorse his actions, Sena spokesperson Sanjay Raut said that anybody could lose their temper when provoked. HarshalPradhan, the media adviser to party chief, Uddhav Thackeray, said a “minor” incident was being blown out of proportion. In fact, the MP has gone so far as to ask for the appointment of a committee to probe into the causes for the declining standards of Air India.
People across India have been outraged by the MP’s hostile behaviour. Indecent conduct on the part of parliamentarians against ordinary, law-abiding citizens has the power to destroy people’s faith in democratic ideals. Gaikwad’s unapologetic response after humiliating the staffer in front of the whole cabin crew has raised apprehensions about whether representatives of the people truly respect the citizens of India
Kriti Sharma
Kriti Sharma is studying BCom (Hons) at Hansraj College. She has a myriad interests, writing being just one of them. A debater, a scholar, a fashionista, she is more of an outdoors person who likes to run 6-8 km a day, just to clear her head. She is an ‘Army Brat’, but an unlikely one. Reading a book by lantern light in a tent by the banks of river Indus after a hard day’s trek in the mountains is her idea of bliss. She wants to be an investment banker but admits that writing lets her escape into a world of ‘Strawberry Fields Forever’.
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