BJP Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday responded to comments by the chairman of private carrier Vistara that it was interested in bidding for Air India.
It is ridiculous for Vistara to bid for Air India. Vistara is an illegal airline and there an ongoing case in Delhi High Court on a PIL filed by me. In that Its partner, TATA is under CBI& ED probe. I hope MoCA does not foolishly allow them to participate.
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) March 3, 2020
Subramanian Swamy has been critical of the Tata Group and its ventures with AirAsia and Vistara (a joint venture of Tata and Singapore Airlines).
On Monday, Vistara chairman Bhaskar Bhat told reporters in New Delhi that “We are evaluating Air India. Which company would not be interested in evaluating a sovereign airline of the country? Whether we bid or not comes later." On being asked whether Vistara or Tata Sons were evaluating Air India, Bhat replied, "We (Vistara) are a joint venture."
This is the first formal confirmation of interest in Air India by the Tata Group. In early February, there were reports that Tata Group is actively exploring a structure for Air India acquisition with Singapore Airlines.
Taking to Twitter on Tuesday, Swamy tweeted, "It is ridiculous for Vistara to bid for Air India. Vistara is an illegal airline and there an ongoing case in Delhi High Court on a PIL filed by me. In that Its partner, TATA is under CBI& ED probe. I hope MoCA [ministry of civil aviation] does not foolishly allow them to participate."
In February 2014, Swamy moved the Delhi High Court, and then the Supreme Court, to seek a stay on government approvals for the joint venture between Tata Group and AirAsia.
Swamy has continued to pursue the matter in the Delhi High Court, saying the granting of flying licences for Vistara and AirAsia violated rules on foreign investment.
Swamy has frequently referred to Vistara and AirAsia as being "illegal airlines run domestically by foreigners".
Interestingly, Swamy has also criticised the Narendra Modi government's bids to cut its stake in Air India. In March 2018, when the Modi government announced plans to sell a 76 per cent stake in Air India, Swamy called the plan "potentially another scam in the making". He referred to Air India as being "family silver" and warned of going to court against the plan.
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When the Modi government announced in January this year that it wanted to sell a 100 per cent stake in Air India, Swamy had called the plan "anti-national".
The last date for putting bids is March 17 and interested bidders for Air India should have a net worth of Rs 3,500 crore.
The government expects to complete the sale of Air India in the first half of the next fiscal, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey said on February 14.
