The Shiv Sena on Thursday brought the case of their beleaguered MP Ravindra Gaikwad before lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan urging her to ask domestic airlines to withdraw the flying ban imposed on him until the ongoing Budget session. Gaikwad is also expected to meet the Speaker in a couple of days.
The MP, who was in controversy for allegedly bashing up an Air India staffer reached Delhi by car from his constituency Osmanabad, Maharashtra, to attend the session, as he was denied ticket to fly. Soon after being Rs groundedRs , the MP had earlier taken a train to reach Mumbai from Delhi.
"We met the Speaker today and requested her to instruct concerned authorities to withdraw the travel ban imposed on Gaikwad for the ongoing session," said Rahul Shewale, party MP from South Central Mumbai.
He was hopeful that the matter is resolved before the next session. He sought that, in the interim, the MP is allowed to fly until the session of Parliament that concludes on April 13.
Vinayak Raut, party MP from Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri, said Gaikwad is a public representative and by banning him from flying, the airlines are hampering his legislative work.
“It is also an injustice to people of his constituency. It is also improper to impose a blanket ban on anyone,” Raut, who was the part of the delegation, said.
Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member, said airline companies are behaving like “goons” by letting terrorists take their flight but imposing restrictions on the common man. “What has he (Gaikwad) doneIJ The behaviour of the airline companies is like mafia and goons,” he said.
“An FIR has been lodged against the MP. The MP has also lodged an FIR. The investigation is going on,” Raut said, noting that no action should have been taken against Gaikwad before investigation was complete.
“And moreover, the FIR has been lodged and investigation is not yet complete. Who has done what will be clear only after investigation is complete. In this country, till now,
dictatorship has not yet started. If they are doing it under pressure from someone, this pressure will also not work for long," he said without elaborating on who could possibly be exerting pressure on the air operators.
Asked whether there should be a fly ban on Gaikwad, he said, “There should not be a fly ban on him. Is he a terroristIJ Terrorists, underworld dons, corrupt people can fly in your airlines, but an MP, who is a common man, he would not fly.
The MP has been blacklisted by the national airlines with Government saying DGCA safety and security guidelines apply to all passengers including the MPs.
Union Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju Monday backed the decision by airlines of not to allow Gaikwad on board their aircraft, saying “an MP is also a passenger” and cannot expect “unequal treatment”.
“I never in my wildest dreams thought that an MP will get caught in such an incident,” Raju said in lok Sabha.