Apologised for dignity of Parliament: Ravindra Gaikwad

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad, who was banned from flying after he assaulted an Air India official with his footwear, said on Friday that he has apologised to the Parliament only for its dignity.

Gaikwad further said that his complaints were not addressed, adding that if this was Air India's behaviour towards a people's representative, then what it would be towards a common man.

"I had decided to travel by train irrespective of ban being lifted or not. I apologised for the dignity of Parliament. The complaints that I had written about were not addressed. This is injustice. If Air India behaves likes this with people's representative, then what must be its attitude towards the common man. However, I am also a common man, a teacher. Whatever I had to say, I said it in front of the speaker in the Parliament," Gaikwad told the media.

Gaikwad tendered an apology to the Parliament, but insisted that he owed no apology to the airline officials.

National Carrier Air India on Friday lifted ban on Gaikwad after a request from Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju.

The development comes a day after the Shiv Sena MP tendered an apology to the Civil Aviation Minister, expressing regret over the incident.

Yesterday, Air India announced that it had cancelled Gaikwad's Delhi-Mumbai round tickets for April 17 and 24.

However, Gaikwad said that he booked a ticket neither for April 17 nor for April 24 for any airline as being aired by the media.

"It is learnt through media that I have booked the tickets for Air India to travel from Delhi to Mumbai for 17 and 24 April and my defaming is continued. On this connection, I would like to make it clear that I have neither booked a ticket for 17 nor 24th April, 2017 for any airline as being aired by media as the session will be sin-e-die on 13th April 2017," Gaikwad said in a statement.

Air India and six private airlines banned the 56-year-old MP from flying as he refused to apologise for the incident that triggered nationwide outrage.