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Air India flight AI2651 was grounded after the incident. It had 179 people on board
Criticising the Centre and airlines over the Indigo crisis, BRS working president KT Rama Rao today warned that the chaos at airports across the country was the result of the concentration of power in the hands of a few.
He pointed out that the aviation sector was in the hands of just two companies and alleged that all industries under the current government have been monopolised. He warned that the enforcement of new labour codes would see similar crises in other sectors as well.
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Rao was speaking on the Centre’s new labour codes at a round-table conference of trade unions at the Telangana Bhavan, organised on the death anniversary of Dr BR Ambedkar, when he cited the Indigo crisis to make his point on how the new labour codes would lead to exploitation.
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The former IT and industry minister said that airports have now been reduced to railway stations and bus stations.
He criticised the airline, pointing out that despite DGCA issuing the directives on pilot deployment last year, Indigo failed to make alternative arrangements, leading to the large-scale disruptions in Indigo’s flight operations. It also did not bow down even when the Centre backtracked.
Rao said after five days, the Centre rolled back its directives. DGCA failed in effectively enforcing its own directives. He reminded that the aviation sector in India was currently in the hands of just two companies – Air India and Indigo.
“This is what happens when the entire power is concentrated in the hands of a few. All industries are monopolised – from airports to seaports to railways. When these 2-3 people decide, the entire country comes to a standstill,” said Rao.
He conceded that there should be ease of doing business, but it should also be accompanied by quality and fair practices.
KTR, as Rao is popularly known, said that the Indigo-like crisis would spread to other sectors if the new labour codes come into force. He accused the BJP and Congress of colluding to pass such Bills, taking advantage of the absence of the BRS in the Lok Sabha.
He also questioned how Revanth Reddy’s government would implement the new labour codes in Telangana. ‘How would the Congress government implement the Bill here in Telangana when Sonia Gandhi opposed it in Delhi?” he asked while slamming the Centre for not considering the country’s social realities while framing policies.
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