Watch: Sena 'Slapgate' MLA Walks Out Of NDTV Interview Over Tough Questions

Far from showing remorse after he slapped and punched the manager of the MLA hostel's canteen in Mumbai, Sanjay Gaikwad has said he would repeat his actions if the same thing happened again. Faced with tough questions, the Shiv Sena MLA, who was speaking to NDTV on Thursday, also chose the easy way out and decided to end the interview, claiming the audience wasn't being given an opportunity to hear his side. 

The conversation, which was being broadcast live, began with the MLA from Buldhana telling NDTV that he had been going to Mumbai since 1990 and ate at the same canteen. He claimed that, in the past four to five years, he had often been served food that was stale - 15-day-old meat, 10-day-old eggs and five-day-old curries. 

"Nearly 1.5 lakh people eat there every year and many MLAs and their personal assistants have complained about the quality of the food and the staff's behaviour. I also complained many times and told them I have stomach issues and need to have fresh food. That day (Tuesday) I placed my order - dal-rice and two chapatis - around 9.30 pm. The moment I had the first morsel, I felt something was off. After the second bite, I vomited and started feeling unwell. The dal was also smelling," he said in Hindi. 

"In that state, I went down to the canteen and asked the person at the counter who had made the food. I called the manager and made him smell the dal. He and others also admitted the food was smelling," he recalled.

Mr Gaikwad then went on to allege that, despite several complaints, the canteen staff was "playing with" his life and trying to kill him. 

His assault on the manager, the MLA contended, was not with the aim of taking his life and, in fact, he did not even "use his full power".

"I just wanted to teach him a lesson," the MLA said.

'When I Showed My Avatar...'

When NDTV asked him the first question after he said all of this, Mr Gaikwad asked not to be interrupted. 

"You were angry, but who gave you the right to assault someone and take the law into your hands?" NDTV asked the MLA.

"Look, my path was wrong but my destination was correct. If an MLA complains 200 times and no action is taken... If someone plays with my life, I have every right to protect myself. When I showed my avatar and attacked the manager, the canteen was sealed the very next day," he said with a hint of pride in his voice. 

NDTV pointed out that he could have approached the police, but the MLA said this was not their job. 

Reminded about his remarks to NDTV earlier that he knows jujitsu, that he is a "warrior" and what he did was the "Shiv Sena style", Mr Gaikwad repeated that he would do it again. "I stand firm on what I said. If someone makes the same mistake, I will not spare them," he said.

Assault The Powerful?

Asked whether, instead of assaulting a helpless canteen manager, he had the courage to attack someone from the land mafia in his constituency, Mr Gaikwad evaded the question and said the canteen manager had been playing with the lives and health of 1 lakh people. 

NDTV reminded him about his responsibility as an MLA and that his job was to behave like a role model and not a goon.

An angry Mr Gaikwad then said he knows his responsibilities and threatened to walk away from the interview if he was interrupted. 

"Why aren't you letting people hear what I am saying? You can see the assault on one man, but not that he is playing with the lives of 1 lakh of my fellow Maharashtrians, of 50 MLAs. You can't see that? I just slapped him... he was taking my life," Mr Gaikwad thundered.

'Don't Need Anyone's Support'

NDTV pointed out that no one from his constituency and no voter was supporting him. "I don't need anyone's support. I do what I do based on my strength and capabilities ('apne bal bute par'). I don't care (whether anyone is standing with me)." 

Mr Gaikwad was then reminded that even his party chief Eknath Shinde and Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had criticised him. 

"What are you talking about? The land mafia? If he is saying all these things, I will not talk to him. I don't need to give him an interview. He (expletive) is cutting me off," the MLA fumed, unplugging his earphones and walking away. 

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