Jet-Etihad deal row: Ajit Singh meets Sonia

Apparently unhappy with PMO over issues related to the controversial Jet-Etihad deal, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh today met UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and is uderstood to have raised the issue.
At the same time, his ministry is revising the note for the Cabinet which will address the concerns raised by various parties and MPs but would not go back on the contents of the bilateral agreement between India and Abu Dhabi on seat-sharing.
During the meeting, Singh is believed to have discussed the fate of the Rs 2,058 crore deal between Jet Airways and Abu Dhabi's Etihad Airways.
Singh, who heads RLD, has been strongly defending the deal even while the PMO has referred the issue to various ministries for addressing concerns raised by some MPs over equity stakes and arrangements for sharing of seats in the lucrative sector.

Etihad Airways had on April 24 announced its decision to purchase 24 per cent stake in Jet Airways.
On June 13, the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) deferred a decision on the deal, saying it required more clarity on control and ownership structure of Jet Airways. Jet chairman Naresh Goyal owns a 51 per cent stake in the airline.

The PMO on Tuesday said the equity stake sale matter was still under examination. It also asserted that there were no differences between Ministries over the air services agreement between India and Abu Dhabi.
The PMO said it had sought redrafting of a note prepared for the Cabinet on the issue.

The Civil Aviation Minister insisted that there no discussion over the deal and that he had gone to meet Gandhi to invite her for the inaugural function for Aviation Academy in Rae Bareli.