BJP questions Arvind Jadhav's selection as Air India chief

NEW DELHI The BJP on Sunday blamed Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for the mess in Air India and alleged that "proper procedure" was not followed by a team comprising his Principal Secretary TKA Nair while selecting Arvind Jadhav as the carrier's CMD.

Former civil aviation minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy, who had on Saturday released documents to back his claim that Raghu Menon's tenure as the CMD of Air India was curtailed for favouring Jadhav, said the prime ministerial establishment cannot wash its hands of the troubles in the state-run carrier.

"Jadhav was not considered eligible for by a government panel. But a year later the same panel found him best suited to run the airline. The tenure of Menon was cut short to accommodate Jadhav, who the search committee itself had said lacked domain experience. The BJP spokesman said the issue cannot be brushed under the carpet as the appointment of Jadhav was made in the midst of the last Lok Sabha election.

"What was the motive in making this hurried appointment while the whole nation was in the midst of elections. The appointment was made on April 24, 2009 and the elections were held between April 16 and May 13. Why did the prime minister allow an impropriety to be committed," Rudy asked.

He said the prime minister should own up responsibility for the affairs of the Air India as he "allowed a committee to manipulate" Jadhav's appointment. "Air India under Jadhav has accumulated loss of Rs 18,000 crore, debt of Rs 40,000 crore and working capital loan of Rs 21,000 crore. Besides these, it owe Rs 3,700 crore and Rs 3,000 as debt to oil companies and employees, respectively. Its total financial liability is a whopping Rs 74,000 crore," Rudy said.