Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad on a train from Delhi to Mumbai on Friday
Ravindra Gaikwad, the Shiv Sena parliamentarian widely condemned for thrashing an Air India duty manager with a slipper and then bragging about it, remains "missing" since he boarded a train in Delhi for Mumbai on Friday evening. He is not in Mumbai or Pune or Osmanabad, the constituency he represents in parliament.
"I will attend parliament on Wednesday," the 57-year-old told NDTV on the phone on the weekend, saying he had been asked to lie low till then. He also talked about legal action against airlines for cancelling his ticket.
Though Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray has remained silent, the party is reportedly planning a privilege motion in parliament over the MP being barred from flying by a group of airlines. This morning, shops were shut in Osmanabad as the MP's supporters demanded action against airlines.
Mr Gaikwad was forced to take a train after all major airlines banned him for his egregious assault on a 60-year-old duty manager of Air India during an argument over a business class seat. When the train arrived in Mumbai the next day, he was not on it. Sources said the Sena is upset with the intense gaze on Mr Gaikwad and he is believed to have left the train at Vapi in Gujarat to duck the media.
The Press Trust of India has quoted him as saying he will go to his hometown Umarga in Osmanabad tomorrow to celebrate the Marathi New Year with his family.
An unrepentant Mr Gaikwad has rejected the airlines' demand for an apology.
"I beat him 25 times," the lawmaker had boasted on Thursday, hours after attacking Sukumar Raman and allegedly trying to push him down the step-ladder after refusing to get off the plane in Delhi on Thursday morning. In footage of the incident, a woman official is heard screaming "don't, don't, don't do that!"
The politician had demanded to see the "top management" to question why he was forced to fly economy from Pune despite his business class ticket. He didn't accept the airline's explanation that it was an all-economy flight.