Shiv Sena workers in party MP Ravindra Gaikwad’s Osmanabad constituency, burnt an effigy of the Air India staffer, who was assaulted by the leader, triggering a slew of protests.
Osmanabad district and tehsil unit functionaries of the Sena gathered at Babasaheb Ambedkar statue at Tuljapur and burnt the effigy, district vice president of Sena, Kamlakar Chavan said.
“We burnt the effigy of the AI purser to support our MP who is our source of inspiration. We are proud of what he did as he was responding to the insult heaped by the airline on him,” Chavan said.
Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, senior Sena minister Eknath Shinde said party president Uddhav Thackeray will take a decision on the Gaikwad issue.
“I feel it is not alright for people’s representatives to turn violent,” the minister said.
Shiv Sena has sought an explanation from Gaikwad who hit an Air India staffer at IGI airport in Delhi with a slipper, and remained defiant over the incident.
“The party has sought an explanation from Gaikwad over the incident. The Sena does not condone violence of any kind,” Harshal Pradhan, media adviser to Sena president said.
Speaking to reporters outside the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly, Shiv Sena MLA Pratap Sarnaik too said the party does not endorse the act.
He was however of the view that airline companies and railways should respect peoples representatives.
