Recently, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad hit a member of the Air India staff with a chappal (slipper), ‘25 times‘. This was because he was not given a business class seat on a flight that had no business class seats, to begin with! Furthermore, he bragged about hitting the person and stated that his actions were completely justified.
Air India courageously banned the MP from boarding their flights. In a show of solidarity, other airlines followed suite.
Unfortunately, it seems as though gunda raj (thug rule) has prevailed in this case, too. No action has been taken against the errant MP, either by the party or by law enforcers.
In fact, Shiv Sena MPs supported Gaikwad in the Parliament by disrupting its proceedings. Furthermore, they warned the Speaker that no flights would be allowed to take off from Mumbai, until the ban was lifted. The entire episode was utterly disgraceful! Also, since when have MPs been allowed to decide whether flights will be taking off from airports, or not?
The government then forced Air India to lift the ban. Doesn’t this make your blood boil? Being an educated youth, I find it hard to believe that these things still happen due to India’s gunda raj.
It is high time that these errant MPs are taught lessons. It’s time they realise that with greater power, there’s also greater responsibility. They should realise that they cannot do whatever they like, because India’s youth is minutely observing each of their actions.
They should realise that just as the common masses elected them, the very same masses can also remove them from power. And it is here that social media and ‘digital India’ needs to play a larger role, because not everyone can take to the streets to protest, daily.
The government should strict actions against errant MPs to bring them under control. I would therefore request the government to look into this matter. There should be a fair investigation into this issue, without undue political pressure. More importantly, those guilty need to be punished by the law of the land – and not by slippers!
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