Jet Airways' employees hold protest outside Civil Aviation Ministry
New Delhi, May 21: Employees of cash-strapped Jet Airways protested outside the Civil Aviation Ministry here on Tuesday, demanding revival of the airline and payment of their pending salaries.
The protests come amid the State Bank of India-led consortium of lenders struggling to find a buyer for the airline which ceased operations around mid-last month due to acute liquidity crisis.
Around 200 employees of Jet Airways demonstrated with banners reading "Hear our cry, let 9W fly", "We fly you around, don't let us be on ground", "We have dependents to feed, please don't let 9W bleed" and "A family helps each other for cleaning house".
9W is the flight code for Jet Airways.
As the protesters moved towards the ministry, Delhi Police and CRPF personnel erected barriers to stop them.
Three employees of the full-service carrier met S K Mishra, joint secretary of Ministry of Civil Aviation.
Asish Kumar Mohanty, one of the employees who met Mishra, told PTI later, "We have given him an update about today's conditions within Jet Airways... We have not got salaries for the last five months. In between, our medical coverage has also been stopped as the management has told us that they have no revenue."
"We told him about three important concerns for the airline employees' pending salaries, no management is there now to look after Jet Airways and expedition of SBI's bidding process," added Mohanty, who belongs to the airline's engineering department.
Jet Airways' Chief Executive Officer Vinay Dube, Chief Financial Officer Amit Agarwal, Company Secretary and Compliance Officer Kuldeep Sharma and Chief People Officer Rahul Taneja had resigned from their respective posts on May 14.
"The joint secretary said the government is very much concerned about the revival of Jet Airways. He said that the higher officers know about it and dialogue and meeting are going on. We told him that the dialogue and meeting have been going on for the last 3-4 months, but nothing has been done on paper as yet," Mohanty said.
He said Mishra was told that aircraft of the airline are being de-registered and the primary concern is the pending salaries of employees.
According to Mohanty, the joint secretary said he will tell his "top bosses" about the employees' concerns.
He added that the central government would be given a petition on Tuesday itself.
The lenders, whom Jet Airways owes over Rs 8,000 crore in debt, are offering 31.2 per cent-75 per cent stake in the company on a fully diluted basis.
SBI Caps, the merchant banking arm of SBI, had on behalf of the consortium of 26 lenders invited expressions of interest between April 8-12, and received four preliminary bids.
These 26 lenders own 51 per cent stake in the airline.
After the first round of bids, private equity firms IndiGo Partners and TPG, Etihad Airways and the sovereign fund NIIF were shortlisted.
Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways submitted its sealed bid to acquire a minority stake in Jet Airways with a lot of riders that involved finding more investors, leaving little hope for the airline's survival.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
