City
Epaper

Swamy warns against Air India sale, wants House panel to vet his note

By IANS | Updated: January 23, 2020 16:35 IST

The government's plan to sell national carrier Air India may face political and legal headwinds with senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy raising the red flag against the decision.

Open in App

Days before the launch of bidding process by inviting Expressions of Interest (EoI) from potential suitors, Swamy has warned against such move, saying the issue was currently being discussed by a Parliamentary panel.

"Right now, it (Air India disinvestment) is before the consultative committee and I am a member of that. I have been asked to give a note which will be discussed in the next meeting. They can't go ahead without that," Swamy told .

"If they do, I will go to court. They know that too," he cautioned.

A vocal opponent of Air India privatisation, Swamy had earlier suggested to list 49 per cent of Air India shares on stock exchanges while government holds 51 per cent in the carrier as an alternative to selling its entire stake to private companies.

It has been reliably learnt that the Rajya Sabha member had expressed reservations over privatisation of Air India the meeting of a Parliamentary consultative committee earlier this month.

After its failed first attempt, the Modi government has shown great zeal this time to sell Air India. It is set to offer a sweetened deal to potential buyers this time around by removing a large chunk of the debt and liabilities from the airline books.

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri had earlier said that Air India will be shut down, in case the disinvestment exercise is not successful.

Sources told that the preliminary information memorandum (PIM) inviting EoI has been tentatively scheduled to be unveiled on January 27.

Air India is proposed to be sold along with its subsidiary Air India Express and ground-handling joint venture company Air India Singapore Airport Terminal Services Ltd (AISATS) in which it has 50 per cent stake.

Air India on January 10 came out with tender for engaging aircraft asset management companies for carrying out technical audit of its entire fleet.

A Ministerial panel on Air India chaired by Home Minister Amit Shah on January 7 approved the draft EoI and a share purchase agreement (SPA) for the airline's disinvestment.

(Nirbhay Kumar can be contacted at nirbhay.k@.in)

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: indiaAir IndiaHardeep Singh PuriAmit Shah
Open in App

Related Stories

Navi MumbaiNavi Mumbai International Airport Set for December 2025 Launch With 23 Daily Departures Under 12-Hour Operations - Check Details Here

Navi MumbaiNavi Mumbai International Airport: Ticket Booking Likely to Begin on This Date

NationalDelhi Red Fort Blast: CM Rekha Gupta Announces Rs 10 Lakh Ex Gratia for Families of Victims

NationalDelhi Red Fort Blast: Union Home Minister Amit Shah Visits Site of Car Explosion (VIDEO)

NationalDelhi Red Fort Blast: PM Modi Condoles Loss of Lives, Reviews Situation with Amit Shah

कारोबार Realted Stories

BusinessPiyush Goyal launches trade intelligence and analytics portal to help exporters

BusinessSBI Chairman pitches for National Financial Grid to unify credit and digital infrastructure

BusinessUP's push toward $1 trillion economy strengthen as new projects and reforms gather pace: Advisor to CM

BusinessSIDBI, Bank of Baroda join hands to step up credit flow to MSMEs, startups

BusinessNFRA launches webinar series to create better financial reporting ecosystem