BJP members withdraw draft opposing AI sale

BJP’S LOK SABHA MEMBER RAKESH SINGH, THE ACTING CHAIRMAN OF THE PARLIAMENTARY COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, WITHDREW THE DRAFT REPORT WHICH HAD SLAMMED THE GOVT’S PLAN TO DISINVEST AIR INDIA, SUGGESTED THAT IT CONTINUE TO BE STATEOWNED

NEW DELHI: Taking advantage of the absence of chairman Derek O’brien of the Trinamool Congress, BJP lawmakers who are members of the parliamentary committee on transport forcibly withdrew the panel’s “adverse” draft report on Air India’s divestment.

The draft report had slammed the government’s plan to disinvest the ailing national carrier and suggested that the airline must continue to be state-owned, albeit with less government control. It gave as many as 11 reasons on why the government should not sell stake in AI to other airlines.

At Monday’s meeting of the parliamentary committee on transport, sparks flew between the BJP’S Lok Sabha member Rakesh Singh and members of the Congress and other Opposition parties after he proposed the withdrawal of the controversial report. Singh acted as the chairman in the absence of the Trinamool leader and adopted a proposal to withdraw the draft report.

The draft report created a stir even as the government said that it would go ahead and divest part of its stake in the loss-making state-owned airline. On Monday, Bloomberg News first reported that the government’s plan involves breaking the airline up into four to facilitate its sale process.

On Monday, the BJP claimed that all parliamentary rules were followed in its trashing of the draft report and that the ruling National Democratic Alliance has a majority in the 31-member panel. O’brien said the move proved the BJP wants “to destroy all institutions” . “We will counsel them,” he added.

According to two eyewitnesses, CPI(M)’S Ritabrata Banerjee, Congress’ Kumari Selja and TMC’S Arpita Ghosh engaged in a heated debate with the BJP lawmakers and eventually walked out before the draft report was withdrawn.

BJP leaders claimed that on January 8, a memorandum signed by 16 panel members, all from the NDA, had objected to the draft report.

They raked up the same memorandum on Monday — the agenda of the meeting was to discuss development of Buddhist Circuit — and rejected the Air India draft report. Draft reports are typically prepared by the chairman and circulated before being amended, accepted, or rejected by the members.