Shiv Sena slams Centre’s decision to privatise AI

Mumbai: Keeping its voice of dissent strong, NDA ally Shiv Sena slammed central government on Friday for its decision to privatise national carrier Air India, saying that had such a decision been taken by the previous Congress-led UPA government, the BJP would not have spared it.

Firing from the editorial of its mouthpiece ‘Saamana’, it also asked the finance minister to spell out the reasons, which made the ‘Maharaja’ (the Air India’s characteristic logo) a “beggar.” The Sena’s taunt comes two days after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said the Cabinet has given “in-principle” approval for the disinvestment of Air India.

The Civil Aviation Ministry is working on the plan of disinvestments of the debt-laden national carrier. “Had this decision been taken by the previous government, the BJP would have exposed the Congress in public. The BJP would have asked how can a government that cannot run an airline, run the nation,” the Sena said.

“But the BJP today has indulged in the sale of the national carrier,” it noted. The Sena also sought to know from Jaitley the reasons for Air India’s downfall and losses in the last few years, and those responsible for it.

The airline earlier had a local market share of about 35 per cent, which has gone down to a mere 16 per cent. This happened as the Civil Aviation Ministry sold off many routes to private companies, the Sena claimed.