Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is capable of leading the country and stressed that the Narendra Modi wave has faded, a statement that is not likely to go down well with the BJP.

The anger among people in Gujarat against the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indication that the BJP would face a stiff challenge in polls, scheduled to be held in December, he said.

Raut was addressing a discussion on a TV channel.

&quot;Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is capable of leading the country. It is wrong to call him &#39;Pappu&#39;,&quot; he said referring to the nickname used to mock the Congress vice-president by a section on social media.

State Education Minister and senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde was also present at the event.

&quot;The biggest political power in this country is people... the voters. &#39;Woh kisi ko bhi Pappu bana sakte hai&#39; (People can make anyone pappu),&quot; the Sena leader said in an apparent dig at the BJP which had secured a massive mandate in 2014 polls.

Sena, the oldest constituent of the NDA, shares a &#39;blow hot-blow cold&#39; relationship with its senior ally, the BJP, in the Centre and Maharashtra.

The Uddhav Thackeray-led party has been attacking Prime Minister Modi regularly and has often taken potshots at the BJP through editorials in the party mouthpiece &quot;Saamana&quot;.&nbsp;Raut&#39;s comments came a day after the schedule for Gujarat polls was announced.

Though Sena lacks any base in Gujarat, the home state of Modi, the party had extended its support to Patidar leader Hardik Patel who had met Uddhav Thackeray at the latter&#39;s residence in Mumbai earlier this year.

&quot;The Modi wave was there in 2014 general elections but now it seems to have faded away. The way people are marching on roads of Gujarat after GST was introduced, it seems they (BJP) are going to face a challenge,&quot; Raut added.

In 2015, Sena had said that even 100 Rahul Gandhis cannot match Prime Minister Narendra Modi&#39;s &quot;mega wave&quot; and had mocked the Congress vice president for his &#39;suit-boot ki sarkar&#39; jibe.

"Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is capable of leading the country. It is wrong to call him 'Pappu'," Sena MP said referring to the nickname used to mock the Congress vice-president by a section on social media.

Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Thursday said Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi is capable of leading the country and stressed that the Narendra Modi wave has faded, a statement that is not likely to go down well with the BJP. The anger among people in Gujarat against the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) is an indication that the BJP would face a stiff challenge in polls, scheduled to be held in December, he said. Raut was addressing a discussion on a TV channel. "Congress leader Rahul Gandhi is capable of leading the country. It is wrong to call him 'Pappu'," he said referring to the nickname used to mock the Congress vice-president by a section on social media. State Education Minister and senior BJP leader Vinod Tawde was also present at the event. "The biggest political power in this country is people... the voters. 'Woh kisi ko bhi Pappu bana sakte hai' (People can make anyone pappu)," the Sena leader said in an apparent dig at the BJP which had secured a massive mandate in 2014 polls. Sena, the oldest constituent of the NDA, shares a 'blow hot-blow cold' relationship with its senior ally, the BJP, in the Centre and Maharashtra. The Uddhav Thackeray-led party has been attacking Prime Minister Modi regularly and has often taken potshots at the BJP through editorials in the party mouthpiece "Saamana". Raut's comments came a day after the schedule for Gujarat polls was announced. Though Sena lacks any base in Gujarat, the home state of Modi, the party had extended its support to Patidar leader Hardik Patel who had met Uddhav Thackeray at the latter's residence in Mumbai earlier this year. "The Modi wave was there in 2014 general elections but now it seems to have faded away. The way people are marching on roads of Gujarat after GST was introduced, it seems they (BJP) are going to face a challenge," Raut added. In 2015, Sena had said that even 100 Rahul Gandhis cannot match Prime Minister Narendra Modi's "mega wave" and had mocked the Congress vice president for his 'suit-boot ki sarkar' jibe.

Rahul Gandhi capable of leading the country: Shiv Sena

The Shiv Sena Thursday&nbsp;urged Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to ask domestic airlines to withdraw the flying ban imposed on its MP Ravindra Gaikwad for the ongoing budget session.

The party said&nbsp;Gaikwad is also likely to meet the Speaker in a couple of days. Gaikwad, meanwhile, travelled by road to Delhi for the Parliament session.

&quot;We met the Speaker today and requested her to instruct concerned authorities to withdraw the travel ban imposed on Gaikwad for the ongoing session,&quot; said Rahul Shewale, party MP from South Central Mumbai.

He hoped the matter is resolved before the next session and demanded that, in the interim, the MP from Osmanabad in Maharashtra who is at the centre of a row for assaulting an Air India employee, is allowed to fly during the current session of Parliament.

Vinayak Raut, party MP from Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri, said Gaikwad is a public representative and by banning him from flying, the airlines are hampering his legislative work.

&quot;It is also an injustice to people of his constituency. It is also improper to impose a blanket ban on anyone,&quot; Raut, who was the part of the delegation, said.

Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member, said airline companies are behaving like &quot;goons&quot; by letting terrorists take their flight but imposing restrictions on the common man.

&quot;What has he (Gaikwad) done? The behaviour of the airline companies is like mafia and goons.&quot;

&quot;An FIR has been lodged against the MP. The MP has also lodged an FIR. The investigation is going on,&quot; Raut said, noting no action should have been taken against Gaikwad before investigation was complete.

&quot;And moreover, the FIR has been lodged and investigation is not yet complete. Who has done what will be clear only after investigation is complete. In this country, till now, dictatorship has not yet started. If they are doing it under pressure from someone, this pressure will also not work for long,&quot; he said without elaborating on who could possibly be exerting pressure on the air operators.

Asked whether there should be a fly ban on Gaikwad, he said, &quot;There should not be a fly ban on him. Is he a terrorist? Terrorists, underworld dons, corrupt people can fly in your airlines, but an MP, who is a common man, he would not fly.

(PTI) 
&nbsp;

Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member said airline companies were behaving like 'goons'

The Shiv Sena Thursday urged Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan to ask domestic airlines to withdraw the flying ban imposed on its MP Ravindra Gaikwad for the ongoing budget session. The party said Gaikwad is also likely to meet the Speaker in a couple of days. Gaikwad, meanwhile, travelled by road to Delhi for the Parliament session. "We met the Speaker today and requested her to instruct concerned authorities to withdraw the travel ban imposed on Gaikwad for the ongoing session," said Rahul Shewale, party MP from South Central Mumbai. He hoped the matter is resolved before the next session and demanded that, in the interim, the MP from Osmanabad in Maharashtra who is at the centre of a row for assaulting an Air India employee, is allowed to fly during the current session of Parliament. Vinayak Raut, party MP from Sindhudurg-Ratnagiri, said Gaikwad is a public representative and by banning him from flying, the airlines are hampering his legislative work. "It is also an injustice to people of his constituency. It is also improper to impose a blanket ban on anyone," Raut, who was the part of the delegation, said. Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena Rajya Sabha member, said airline companies are behaving like "goons" by letting terrorists take their flight but imposing restrictions on the common man. "What has he (Gaikwad) done? The behaviour of the airline companies is like mafia and goons." "An FIR has been lodged against the MP. The MP has also lodged an FIR. The investigation is going on," Raut said, noting no action should have been taken against Gaikwad before investigation was complete. "And moreover, the FIR has been lodged and investigation is not yet complete. Who has done what will be clear only after investigation is complete. In this country, till now, dictatorship has not yet started. If they are doing it under pressure from someone, this pressure will also not work for long," he said without elaborating on who could possibly be exerting pressure on the air operators. Asked whether there should be a fly ban on Gaikwad, he said, "There should not be a fly ban on him. Is he a terrorist? Terrorists, underworld dons, corrupt people can fly in your airlines, but an MP, who is a common man, he would not fly. (PTI)

Lift airline travel ban on Ravindra Gaikwad: Shiv Sena requests Lok Sabha Speaker

The Indian lawmaker, who had been barred by five airlines for assaulting an airline employee, had to take the train to travel from New Delhi to Mumbai on Friday night.

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad boarded the August Kranti Express from New Delhi&#39;s Hazrat Nizamuddin station, according to a senior Railway Ministry official.

The lawmaker, who had confessed to have beaten a 60-year-old duty manager of Air India with a sandal &quot;25 times&quot; &nbsp;on Wednesday, booked three seats in the Mumbai-bound train.

Gaikwad faced public outrage for his brazen assault on an airline employee for being asked to sit in the economy class of an Air India aircraft flying from Pune to New Delhi.

The first-time lawmaker from Osmanabad in India&#39;s western state of Maharashtra also used his clout to delay the flight service, following which Air India and four other major airlines decided to blacklist him.

On Friday evening, the MP had booked a ticket on another airline IndiGo to travel from New Delhi to his home state. But the airline cancelled his booking when they were alerted that the ticket was for the&nbsp;Gaikwad.

Incidentally, the lawmaker became the first passenger to have been barred from flying by an Indian airline for rude behaviour. Although, it is a common policy of international airlines to bar rude passengers from flying with them, the move against the Indian lawmaker is an unprecendented one taken by Indian airlines.

Air India has also pressed charges against Gaikwad for his misdemeanour on the flight that was supposed to take him to India&#39;s capital city for parliamentary work.

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Vadodara (Gujarat): Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad enroute to Mumbai in a train, refrains from commenting further on Air India row. <a href="https://t.co/qhAyEWCliE">pic.twitter.com/qhAyEWCliE</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI_news) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI_news/status/845422862483652608">March 24, 2017</a></blockquote>
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Gaikwad&#39;s action also drew sharp rebuke from his colleagues in the parliament, with many condemning the incident.

His party, the far-right Shiv Sena, has decided to question him about the incident, but soundbytes emanating from their camp has sent out mixed signals.

Some of his party colleagues -- Eknath Shinde and Ramdas Kadam -- chastised Gaikwad for resorting to violence, which was also caught on video.

But another party leader Sanjay Raut backed the under-fire Gaikwad and instead questioned Air India&#39;s handling of the incident. Raut asked Air India to &quot;ponder&quot; about what happened on Wednesday and how it would feel if the public started to blacklist them.

An equally belligerent Gaikwad has refused to apologise for his actions as well, saying the assaulted employee named Sukumar Raman should say sorry first. He has also complained to the civil aviation ministry about the incident and questioned why domestic flights don&#39;t provide &quot;TV and towels&quot; like the international carriers do.

Hours after the assault, Gaikwad had unflinchingly stated: &quot;I am not a BJP (Indian PM Narendra Modi&#39;s Bharatiya Janata Party) MP. I am a Shiv Sena MP and will not tolerate any insult.&quot;

(WION with inputs from PTI)

Domestic airlines unitedly 'banned' him from flying on their aircraft for assaulting an Air India officer

The Indian lawmaker, who had been barred by five airlines for assaulting an airline employee, had to take the train to travel from New Delhi to Mumbai on Friday night. Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad boarded the August Kranti Express from New Delhi's Hazrat Nizamuddin station, according to a senior Railway Ministry official. The lawmaker, who had confessed to have beaten a 60-year-old duty manager of Air India with a sandal "25 times" on Wednesday, booked three seats in the Mumbai-bound train. Gaikwad faced public outrage for his brazen assault on an airline employee for being asked to sit in the economy class of an Air India aircraft flying from Pune to New Delhi. The first-time lawmaker from Osmanabad in India's western state of Maharashtra also used his clout to delay the flight service, following which Air India and four other major airlines decided to blacklist him. On Friday evening, the MP had booked a ticket on another airline IndiGo to travel from New Delhi to his home state. But the airline cancelled his booking when they were alerted that the ticket was for the Gaikwad. Incidentally, the lawmaker became the first passenger to have been barred from flying by an Indian airline for rude behaviour. Although, it is a common policy of international airlines to bar rude passengers from flying with them, the move against the Indian lawmaker is an unprecendented one taken by Indian airlines. Air India has also pressed charges against Gaikwad for his misdemeanour on the flight that was supposed to take him to India's capital city for parliamentary work. Vadodara (Gujarat): Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad enroute to Mumbai in a train, refrains from commenting further on Air India row. pic.twitter.com/qhAyEWCliE — ANI (@ANI_news) March 24, 2017 × #WATCH: Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad refrains from commenting further on Air India row,says Uddhav Thackeray or Anil Desai will speak on it pic.twitter.com/wfNaOtoae9 — ANI (@ANI_news) March 24, 2017 × Gaikwad's action also drew sharp rebuke from his colleagues in the parliament, with many condemning the incident. His party, the far-right Shiv Sena, has decided to question him about the incident, but soundbytes emanating from their camp has sent out mixed signals. Some of his party colleagues -- Eknath Shinde and Ramdas Kadam -- chastised Gaikwad for resorting to violence, which was also caught on video. But another party leader Sanjay Raut backed the under-fire Gaikwad and instead questioned Air India's handling of the incident. Raut asked Air India to "ponder" about what happened on Wednesday and how it would feel if the public started to blacklist them. An equally belligerent Gaikwad has refused to apologise for his actions as well, saying the assaulted employee named Sukumar Raman should say sorry first. He has also complained to the civil aviation ministry about the incident and questioned why domestic flights don't provide "TV and towels" like the international carriers do. Hours after the assault, Gaikwad had unflinchingly stated: "I am not a BJP (Indian PM Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party) MP. I am a Shiv Sena MP and will not tolerate any insult." (WION with inputs from PTI)

India: After airlines ban, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad forced to travel by train

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad -- who beat up an Air India staff member yesterday -- will no longer fly with the airline.&nbsp;

The staff member, Sukumar Raman, was 60 years old. Gaikwad hit him -- see video below -- with his slipper.&nbsp;

Nor will Gaikwad fly with Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet, or GoAir, after the Federation of Indian Airlines also banned him from flying with their airlines.&nbsp;

Air India cancelled Gaikwad&#39;s Delhi to Pune ticket Friday.

IndiGo refused to issue him a ticket after he tried his luck with them. &nbsp;

Gaikwad will be prohibited from&nbsp;flying on Air India&nbsp;with &quot;immediate effect&quot;, the company&nbsp;said, though the timescale of the punishment remains unclear.

Gaikwad becomes the first person to be put on the airlines&#39; no-fly list.&nbsp;

Delhi Police said today they have registered an FIR against the Shiv Sena MP for assaulting an Air India staffer.

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WATCH: Unedited footage of Shiv Sena MP R Gaikwad roughing up Air India staff (NOTE: STRONG LANGUAGE) <a href="https://t.co/idFr8MpUTo">pic.twitter.com/idFr8MpUTo</a>
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This announcement from India&#39;s third-largest airline comes&nbsp;a day after they created&nbsp;their own no-fly list to prevent unruly passengers from using their facility.

Gaikwad becomes the first person to be blacklisted by an Indian airline.

The Federation of Indian Airlines has also decided to bar the politician from flying on Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir.

But this hasn&#39;t deterred the lawmaker. &quot;I will not apologise. Why should I? First ask him to apologise, then we will see,&quot; he told ANI.

&quot;I have the tickets, they can&#39;t blacklist me. I will board the Delhi-Pune Air India flight this evening. How can they not allow me?&quot; Gaikwad&nbsp;said.

On Thursday, Gaikwad beat an Air India staffer &quot;25 times&quot; with a slipper for being upset about not being seated in the business class of a&nbsp;flight&nbsp;from Pune to New Delhi.

The lawmaker from Osmanabad district in India&#39;s western state of Maharashtra also delayed the flight services as he refused to get off the plane.

Unnamed sources said though Gaikwad had an open (undated) business class ticket, his staff was told&nbsp;that the Pune-New Delhi flight AI 852 was an all-economy service.

Later, the unfazed lawmaker unflinchingly chronicled what happened on the flight: &quot;Yes, I held the AI (Air India) official&#39;s collar and hit him 25 times with my sandals, tore his clothes and broke his specs.&nbsp;I am not a BJP MP. I am a Shiv Sena MP and will not tolerate any insult.&quot;

Gaikwad has also refused to apologise. Instead, he has asked the Air India employee to apologise to him.&nbsp;

Gaikwad&#39;s brazenness has left the political establishment, especially the Shiv Sena, deeply embarrassed.

Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has pulled up the lawmaker to justify his action on the airplane.

&quot;The party has sought an explanation from Gaikwad over&nbsp;the incident. The Sena does not condone violence of any kind,&quot; Thackeray&#39;s media adviser Harshal Pradhan&nbsp;told&nbsp;PTI.

But Gaikwad has approached the civil aviation ministry seeking an inquiry into the incident.

An hour after the episode, the assaulted staffer -- 60-year-old Sukumar Raman -- said: &quot;God save our country if this is the culture and behaviour of our MPs.&quot;

(WION)

&nbsp;

He becomes the first person to be put on the airlines' no-fly list

Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad -- who beat up an Air India staff member yesterday -- will no longer fly with the airline. The staff member, Sukumar Raman, was 60 years old. Gaikwad hit him -- see video below -- with his slipper. Nor will Gaikwad fly with Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet, or GoAir, after the Federation of Indian Airlines also banned him from flying with their airlines. Air India cancelled Gaikwad's Delhi to Pune ticket Friday. IndiGo refused to issue him a ticket after he tried his luck with them. Gaikwad will be prohibited from flying on Air India with "immediate effect", the company said, though the timescale of the punishment remains unclear. Gaikwad becomes the first person to be put on the airlines' no-fly list. Delhi Police said today they have registered an FIR against the Shiv Sena MP for assaulting an Air India staffer. WATCH: Unedited footage of Shiv Sena MP R Gaikwad roughing up Air India staff (NOTE: STRONG LANGUAGE) pic.twitter.com/idFr8MpUTo — ANI (@ANI_news) March 23, 2017 × This announcement from India's third-largest airline comes a day after they created their own no-fly list to prevent unruly passengers from using their facility. Gaikwad becomes the first person to be blacklisted by an Indian airline. The Federation of Indian Airlines has also decided to bar the politician from flying on Jet Airways, IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir. But this hasn't deterred the lawmaker. "I will not apologise. Why should I? First ask him to apologise, then we will see," he told ANI. "I have the tickets, they can't blacklist me. I will board the Delhi-Pune Air India flight this evening. How can they not allow me?" Gaikwad said. On Thursday, Gaikwad beat an Air India staffer "25 times" with a slipper for being upset about not being seated in the business class of a flight from Pune to New Delhi. The lawmaker from Osmanabad district in India's western state of Maharashtra also delayed the flight services as he refused to get off the plane. Unnamed sources said though Gaikwad had an open (undated) business class ticket, his staff was told that the Pune-New Delhi flight AI 852 was an all-economy service. Later, the unfazed lawmaker unflinchingly chronicled what happened on the flight: "Yes, I held the AI (Air India) official's collar and hit him 25 times with my sandals, tore his clothes and broke his specs. I am not a BJP MP. I am a Shiv Sena MP and will not tolerate any insult." Gaikwad has also refused to apologise. Instead, he has asked the Air India employee to apologise to him. Gaikwad's brazenness has left the political establishment, especially the Shiv Sena, deeply embarrassed. Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray has pulled up the lawmaker to justify his action on the airplane. "The party has sought an explanation from Gaikwad over the incident. The Sena does not condone violence of any kind," Thackeray's media adviser Harshal Pradhan told PTI. But Gaikwad has approached the civil aviation ministry seeking an inquiry into the incident. An hour after the episode, the assaulted staffer -- 60-year-old Sukumar Raman -- said: "God save our country if this is the culture and behaviour of our MPs." (WION)

Air India, 4 other airlines ban Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad

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Rahul Gandhi capable of leading the country: Shiv Sena

Lift airline travel ban on Ravindra Gaikwad: Shiv Sena requests Lok Sabha Speaker

India: After airlines ban, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad forced to travel by train

Air India, 4 other airlines ban Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad