Congress leader Rahul Gandhi
Credit: PTI photo
New Delhi: Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that the "fiasco" involving country's largest airline IndiGo is the cost of the BJP government's "monopoly model" while emphasising that India deserves fair competition in every sector and not "match-fixing monopolies".
Track latest updates from IndiGo crisis here
Rahul's comments came as IndiGo cancelled a large number of its services in the past few days, as it could not manage its rosters by following the new Flight Duty Time Limitations norms. IndiGo corners 65-70% of the civil aviation market in the country.
"IndiGo fiasco is the cost of this Govt’s monopoly model. Once again, it’s ordinary Indians who pay the price - in delays, cancellations and helplessness. India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies," he posted on 'X'.
He also shared an article he wrote last year, in which he had said the original East India Company wound up more than 150 years ago but the raw fear it then generated is back with a new breed of monopolists having taken its place.
The issue was also raised in Rajya Sabha where Congress Deputy Leader Pramod Tiwari claimed that the airline's monopoly is impacting Parliamentarians as well as citizens. During Zero Hour, he said the cancellations had affected several MPs who had made travel plans for the weekend.
"Many MPs had booked flights to return home on Friday and return on Monday, but are now facing difficulties. The problem has arisen due to the monopoly of one airline. I want to request through you the minister in charge who has made this rule due to which the problem has arisen, and update the House when the problem will be addressed. Is the government taking any steps?" he said.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju assured the House that the government was looking into the matter. "Before coming to the House, I spoke to the Civil Aviation Minister. The government is considering the technical problems the airline faces. I have told the civil aviation minister to prepare a response as members concerned will raise the issue in the House," Rijiju said.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra told reporters, "all of us know that throughout the country, most things belong to only a few people and that is the doing of this government. That is not healthy. It is not healthy for the economy, it is not healthy for democracy and it is not healthy for the country."
Congress General Secretary K C Venugopal posted on X, "from the collapse of Jet Airways and Go First to Air India's monopoly merger -- every move that has contributed to this disastrous outcome has happened under their watch."
He alleged that "this is not a routine operational hiccup, it is a government-approved systemic failure that will happen again and again unless drastic measures are undertaken immediately".