Uddhav Thackeray unhappy with Ravindra Gaikwad

Mumbai: Controversial Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Ravindra Gaikwad, who had assaulted Air India employee on March 23 after he landed in Delhi on a Pune-Delhi flight, finally met party chief Uddhav Thackeray in Mumbai at Sena Bhavan on Saturday. Despite airlines having lifted their ban on him the day before, Gaikwad reached Mumbai via the Rajdhani Express and alighted at Borivali station.

The meeting between the two went on for 15 minutes and Mr Thackeray clearly expressed his displeasure about the way things unfolded, sources said.

Neither Gaikwad nor Mr Thackeray has spoken to the press on the issue and the former avoid mediapersons after meeting the Sena chief. Sources said Mr Thackeray asked Gaikwad about his behaviour in the flight.

Later, speaking over phone, Gaikwad said that he had spoken to Mr Thackeray and would not talk more. “Whatever I had to say, I have told Uddhavji. Only he will speak now,” the 56-year-old parliamentarian said.

After the incident, a case was lodged against Gaikwad in Delhi and the Federation of Indian Airlines — an apex industry body formed by scheduled carriers in India — banned the Sena leader from flying. The issue was raised in the Parliament by Sena MPs, who demanded ‘justice’ for Gaikwad. Later, the MP wrote a letter to the Union civil aviation minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju on Thursday in which he expressed “regret” over the “unfortunate incident”.

The MP also requested that the ban be lifted and stated, “Let the investigation eventually determine the circumstances which led to the incident.” The ban was lifted after the ministry of civil aviation (MOCA) on Friday sent a letter to the chairman and managing director of Air India ordering the national carrier to allow Gaikwad to fly. The MOCA’s letter stated that in order to deal with unruly passengers in a more effective manner in the future, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is drafting an amendment to the Civil Aviation Requirements (CAR) in consultation with the MOCA to establish a national no-fly list.   

Stating that his party stood behind Gaikwad, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said that the ban was not acceptable. “We do not support assault but who gave airlines the right to ban Gaikwad from flying? The ban is not acceptable at all. He just met Uddhavji today and explained his side of the story,” Mr Raut said.