Mumbai: A national TV news channel’s reporting on a massive celebration to mark Air India Day as wasteful expenditure of the tax payers’ money has been described by Air India (AI) as baseless and untrue.
Reacting to comments on how a “bleeding airline splurged at the taxpayers’ expense,” AI released a press note on Friday stating that, “a canard is being spread by a section of press media about splurging crores (multi million) of rupees on organising a function recently to coincide with the Air India Day. It is reiterated that AI is fully aware of its responsibilities towards the judicious use of tax payers’ money and we are always committed to serve the nation to the best of our abilities.”
The airline observed August 27, as Air India Day for the first time since Air India and Indian Airlines merged in 2007. However, the grand function held in Delhi to observe the day was reported by the Times Now news channel as a multi-million-rupee “shameless extravaganza” held at a time when the “airline hurtles from losses to losses, notching up negative reviews”. Even the Civil Aviation Minister P Ashok Gajapathi Raju was criticised for defending “the massive celebrations and the huge expenditure”. The minister had reportedly stated that, “We must not dwell on the past but be optimistic and move on.”
Outstanding arrears
The news channel reported that the airline spent over Rs10 million (Dh606,400) on about 1,000 guests, entertainment, flying officials from across the country for free, hotel stay, on an even management agency, souvenirs/gifts, and so on. It also noted that two profit-making airlines were merged into loss-making airline. Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari had also commented that it would have been “far far better if the AI and IA management paid the outstanding arrears to its employees.”
Arnab Goswami, editor-in-chief of Times Now said that the airline openly flouted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s diktat of “minimum government and maximum governance”.
The airline has rebutted that the total expenditure was just around Rs1 million. “All participants in the cultural function were talents of employees of the company only. No outside artist was associated with the program. All outstation employees who participated in the function were accommodated in the hotel owned by AI subsidiary. AI deplores and condemns biased media reporting particularly when it’s farthest from the truth. AI is also exploring to take up the issue to an appropriate forum.”
Courage
It also stated that the function was intended to felicitate the brave employees who showed courage and devotion to duty “while going on rescue operations to bring back hundreds of our countrymen from the conflict zone in Iraq and Libya. Also, AI wanted to honour our courageous pilots who have efficiently negotiated emergency landing while the aircraft was on fire.”
The airline also said that at a time when it was trying to regain past glory, “there is a concerted effort on the part of a section of media to derail and demoralise our promise to success”.
