Sir — As a law-abiding citizen of this country, on whose tax money our MlAs and MPs enjoy perks and facilities, I want to ask them one question: If an ordinary citizen slapped an airline staff, will the MPs, who went soft towards the Shiv Sena MP, Ravindra Gaikwad, and rushed to protect him, behave in the same manner for the common manIJ Will they pacify the offended and allow him to go scot-free, after accepting a public apology read out by himIJ
I am sure, the very moment a common man is found misbehaving with an airline staff, he will be arrested and put behind bars. But in the case of Gaikwad, who not only slapped a 60-year-old Air India staffer with his footwear, but also had the audacity to proclaim with pride that he had slapped the staff 25 times with his slippers, and has not even apologised to the staff, it is shocking that no action has been initiated against him.
We understand that Air India has been directed to lift the ban imposed on the MP from flying in their aircraft, which is nothing but adding insult to injury. What double standards and blatant hypocrisy!