Raja writes to PM to hold debate on Air India disinvestment

CPI leader D Raja has written to the prime minister saying the government should hold a debate on the proposed disinvestment of Air India as it will have long-term consequences for the country.
In the letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the CPI MP warned the government today that hasty economic policies have often boomeranged.
"The government should remember the consequences of other ill-thought out and hasty economic policies, which had boomeranged. I strongly advise the government to have a complete debate and let public opinion be formed on this issue. Hasty sell-off of Air India will have long term negative consequences for the country," Raja wrote in the letter.

Air India is not an organisation suffering from a lock- out or in a state of inaction, he added.
"As a matter of fact, Air India has expanded its international routes and Indians overseas have greatly appreciated the expansion," Raja wrote in the letter.
The government took the decision "without weighing the social costs of selling off Air India" which would be a major setback to India's image, he claimed.
There is a need to "avoid haste, and ponder over the negative impacts of selling off Air India on the civil aviation sector", Raja added.