I am Sunil, not Ravindra, says another Gaikwad MP after airport probe

New Delhi: Shiv Sena Member of Parliament Ravindra Gaikwad has brought much disrepute to that surname after he abused an Air India official onboard a plane and then bragged about how he had beaten him 25 times with his slippers.

Airlines staff in India’s airports is now wary of that surname and if that person is an MP, then woe be him.

This is what BJP MP Sunil Gaikwad found out recently – much to his chagrin. Airlines security stopped Mr Gaikwad from boarding a flight on Thursday and grilled him thoroughly.

Gaikwad told news agency ANI: “I was stopped at security points at the airport repeatedly because of my surname and also because I am an MP”.

The Latur MP wrote to the Civil Aviation Ministry about his ordeal.

Last week, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad had an ugly spat with an Air India staff following which the Osmanbad representative was barred from travelling through air, not only by Air India but by other airlines as well.

Following the ban on the Shiv Sena MP, there had been rigorous discussions in Parliament on whether airlines should bar an MP who needs to travel to Delhi to attend House.

During Zero Hour discussion, Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had backed Air India staff, saying they cannot discriminate between passengers

However, Sena MP Anandrao Adsul raised question in Parliament on how Air India could ban an MP without a probe. He had argued comedian Kapil Sharma, who allegedly misbehaved on a flight after getting drunk, wasn’t put in any travel-ban list.