INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday ruled out any interference in efforts to help cash-strapped Jet Airways, saying that the
government should not be seen to be doing any kind of deals to help an airline
Against the backdrop of lenders set to take control of Jet Airways under a debt resolution plan, he said banks are direct stakeholders and
are dealing with commercial matters of the airline where the ministry would not like to intervene.Interacting with PTI journalists here, Mr
Prabhu said, "The ministry should not be dealing in any commercial transactions of any kind
Same thing I did for railways or for anywhere else
The issue is between banks and the management."He was responding to a query about the case of the now defunct Kingfisher Airlines where
banks apparently did not intervene
Days after Jet Airways' board approved a debt resolution plan, wherein the lenders led by SBI would take control of the airline, embattled
liquor baron Vijay Mallya had lashed out at public sector banks for "double standards" under the current NDA regime for their intervention
to bailout Jet Airways while the same lenders made his Kingfisher airlines "fail ruthlessly"
You can help a company by bringing the other down," he said
"We should not be seeing to be doing anything which would be construed or seen or actually resulting in either favouritism or doing
something wrong against somebody
When asked if the government played any role in state-run banks taking over Jet Airways, the minister said, "What role have we got That is
That is what Jet Airways was trying to come with us
neutral observer had the Jet Airways gone under, Mr Prabhu replied, "That is banks' call
There is a law which says that any company which could not service the liability - how to deal with that.""Our role is very clear
And that is what I have personally done actually
and Jet Airways' executives, Mr Prabhu said the meetings are taking place because "we are dealing with safety"
telling banks that if you are taking over as management, then ensure that the safety is assured, and give enough funds for the safety," he
government would be tempted to be interventionist We are very clear that managing the airline is the responsibility of the respective board
and the airline company," he said.Get the latest election news, live updates and election schedule for Lok Sabha Elections 2019 on
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