Air India 'must' remain in government hands: Praful

New Delhi: Asserting that Air India must remain in government hands, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel today said the erstwhile NDA regime had not only not given the national carriers a level-playing field but had also decided to sell them off.
Justifying his earlier statements that the merged carrier must "perform or perish", he said, "it is after more than 15 years that government has given a signal that the national carrier must be allowed to grow and flourish and must remain in government hands." Patel said this in reply to a letter by the Joint Action Committee of several unions, associations and guilds of Air India.
In his written response, the Minister said, "You will recall the previous government's decision to sell/ privatise both the national carriers. The bidding process had almost reached a state of finality and had the bidders not withdrawn at the last moment, our present exchange would have been 'history'.
20/06/08 Press Trust of India

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Categories: NACIL Jun 2008