TLI Staff
New Delhi: While Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appealed the people to come out in their balconies and doors to clap or ring bells on Sunday as a show of appreciation for all those in forefront to fight COVID-19, national carrier Air India deserves special mention.
Even as the country would observe ‘Janata Curfew’ on the call of PM Modi, brave pilots and crew members of the airline would evacuate 262 Indians from Rome, one of the hotspots of Coronavirus infection in the new epicenter of the deadly disease, and land in Delhi.
The Boeing 777 aircraft flying back the stranded Indians would reach Delhi around 8AM from where they would be taken to Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP)’s Chawla camp for quarantine.
“All the people who would be brought back from Rome have tested negative for Coronavirus. All other screenings have been done and they will land tomorrow morning between 7:30 and 8AM,” said a government official.
Air India has already operated two special flights to bring back Indian students from Wuhan and one from Milan following the outbreak of Coronavirus. It operated three flights to Jaisalmer from Delhi to fly Indians brought from virus-hit Iran.
This is not the first time Air India has risen to the occasion. It had successfully evacuated Indians from war zones in Iraq and Libya. In just few hours’ notice, the airline had readied a plane to fly gangrape victim Nirbhaya to Singapore for treatment and bring her back when she was declared dead. As and when natural calamities have hit the country, Air India has done its national duty.
This is perhaps the reason, millions of people are against privatization of the airline and wants it to keep the national flag flying high. No wonder, senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy is ready to take on his own government if it moved ahead with the sell-off plan.
But unperturbed by the opposition, Modi government has set the ball rolling for privatization and invited expression of interest (EoI) for selling its entire 100 per cent stake in the company.
(Also read: Government acting like spoiled brat, puts even nation’s jewel Air India on sale)
Many political analysts and those tracking economic developments have disapproved of the government plan to sell public assets in general. They are of the view that all public sector enterprises (PSEs) were built with taxpayers’ money but now they are being sold to private players.
“It’s not only about Air India. All PSUs are gradually being privatized. Taxpayers’ money went into building these PSUs but they are now being handed over to private players to make profit. This is general policy of this government,” Delhi University professor and acclaimed political analyst Apoorvanand said.
(Also read: Government privatizing airports to help big corporates: D Raja | TLI Exclusive)
He noted that profit was not the motive behind setting up these PSUs but motive of private players is nothing but making profit.
The Modi government has lined up as many as 27 PSUs for disinvestment or outright privatization. The fire sale of PSUs has invited criticism from various quarters including RSS-affiliate Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh.
Opposition leaders have accused the government of economic mismanagement and argued that public assets are being sold to make up for shortfall in tax revenues.
Among public assets put on the block are profit-making airports, Container Corporation of India and fuel refiner and retailer BPCL.