Sitaram Yechury rebuts Mamata Banerjee's contention

KOLKATA: CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury tonight dubbed as "totally false" Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee's reported contention that parliamentary Standing Committee on civil aviation headed by him had recommended 51 per cent FDI in civil aviation sector.

"The allegation is totally false", he said. Yechury said when he was the chairman of the Standing committee on civil aviation and transport, this issue never came up before it and this sort of decision is taken by the executive.

Mamata Banerjee had been a union minister since the time of P V Narashima Rao government and also under NDA and UPA 2 and she must know that such a decision is taken by the executive, Yechury said.

The CPI(M) leader said his party had been a consistent fighter against FDI and privatization in civil aviation and there are many documents and records to prove it.

"It is only our party which had moved a statutory resolution in parliament, which is rarely moved on an issue in this sector. I, as Chairman of the committee, can cite arious reports which have been adopted unanimously recommending to the government not to take this path", Yechury said.