Shiv Sena MLA Sanjay Gaikwad - who punched a canteen staffer over 'stale food' and admitted to the assault on live TV - continues to insist he did nothing wrong and does not regret his actions.
"I don't regret it at all. I have not committed any big crime... so I will face all these actions and criticisms," he told reporters after reports said Mumbai Police will file a case against MLA, whose assault on Yogesh Kutram has been seen as underlining the thug-like behaviour of some politicians.
It is unclear if the charges - when the case will actually be filed - will be strict enough to arrest the lawmaker. That, however, is an unlikely circumstance given he is a member of the ruling party and seven goons from an opposition outfit, i.e., Raj Thackeray's Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, are roaming free after assaulting a shopkeeper in Mumbai's Mira Road suburb earlier this month.
Sources told NDTV the charges are likely to be non-cognisable, which means Gaikwad can only be arrested if the police have an express order from a magistrate or judge.
In any case, police action against Gaikwad comes after he punched a man in the face in a widely-circulated video clip, proudly admitted to the assault in a live interview with NDTV, and made further threats (and obscene displays of physical prowess), particularly those from the southern states.
On Thursday night Gaikwad had spoken, again, to NDTV and, again, was unabashedly unapologetic, threatening to commit further physical assault if provoked.
WATCH | Sena 'Slapgate' MLA Walks Out On NDTV Over Tough Questions
He also walked out of the interview after NDTV tried to hold him to account, demanding to know what gave him, or any other politician, the right to assault someone or take the law into their own hands.
The horrific assault - the video showed Gaikwad slapping and punching the poor man after accusing him of serving stale food - has also put the ruling BJP-Sena alliance in the dock.
(L to R) Chief MInister Fadnavis, MLA Gaikwad, and Deputy Chief MInister Shinde (File).
It has also forced Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and his deputy, Sena boss Eknath Shinde, to criticise Gaikwad, at least publicly, although he seemed remarkably unaffected by that.
READ | Fadnavis' Strong Response To MLA's Slap Video, Shinde Red-Faced
When NDTV asked him to react to reprimands from his two bosses, he declared, "I don't need anyone's support. I do what I do based on my strength and capabilities ('apne bal bute par').
Gaikwad's brutish behaviour also seems to have opened a small rift between Fadnavis and Shinde. This was after Maharashtra's junior Home Minister, the Sena's Yogesh Kadam, declared the police could not act against Gaikwad because no complaint had been filed.
Fadnavis, though, urged the police to not wait for that complaint; "Police should conduct an inquiry... no need (to wait) for a complaint. If it is a cognisable offence, police will act..."
Gaikwad's actions have increased scrutiny on the behaviour of political leaders and parties in Maharashtra amid fierce protests over the state government's (now recalled) order to make Hindi the mandatory third language for all students from Class I to V.
That behaviour includes the awful assault of a Mumbai shopkeeper by goons from Raj Thackeray's MNS, an attack for which the party not only refused to apologise, but also 'advised' followers on where to punch and slap people and to not record future assaults.
Other instances of assault include the slapping of shop staff in the office of the Shiv Sena (UBT, i.e., the faction led by opposition leader Uddhav Thackeray) Thane MP Rajan Vichare.
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