Barred And Booked, Sena MP Gaikwad Tries Tweaking His Name

New Delhi: In a desperate act to reach New Delhi, Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad on Saturday tried tweaking his name while booking his air tickets. In the last seven days, the MP tried to book four times through Air India and on all occasions the airline cancelled his ticket.

The “clever” MP tried to circumvent a ban on flying by booking flights with different honorifics and spellings of his name. Ravindra Gaikwad, Professor Ravindra Gaikwad and Professor V Ravindra Gaikwad were a few names he used.

Top Air India sources told News18 that the MP tried to book, Mumbai-Delhi, Hyderabad-Delhi, Nagpur-Delhi and Mumbai-Nagpur. Every time Gaikwad used his coupon issued by the parliament to book the ticket, the airline was alerted, thus swinging into action to cancel it immediately.Also Read: Air India 'Blacklists' Shiv Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad for Assaulting Staffer

However, another BJP MP Sunil Gaikwad, who unfortunately shares the same last name as the Sena MP, was repeatedly stopped at security check points before boarding a flight. Irked by this, the BJP MP said, “I have conveyed this to the MoS Civil Aviation Jayant Sinha. Is having Gaikwad surname a crime?”

It's been few days since Sena MP has remained absent in Lok Sabha. Meanwhile, Shiv Sena condemned the stance taken by airline and said the airlines were not right in banning the MP. The party MPs have approached the speaker and asked her to intervene. Also Read: Booked by Delhi Police, Barred By Airlines, Sena MP Gaikwad Forced to Take Train

The airline had earlier issued a "non-acceptance order" to all its station managers and booking offices, instructing them to ensure that "restriction on acceptance and travel of potentially unruly and unsafe passengers is being followed on Air India flights for Mr Ravindra Gaikwad".

In an unprecedented step in Indian aviation history, the Sena MP was earlier barred from flying by all major domestic airlines for assaulting an elderly Air India employee last Thursday.Also Read: Is Sena MP Ravindra Gaikwad a Habitual Offender?

The MP was angry at not being given a business class seat though he had boarded an-economy flight.