Delhi BJP expels three councillors for 6 years over 'graft charges'
New Delhi, (PTI): Cracking the whip over complaints of corruption, Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta on Sunday expelled three municipal councilors from the party for six years, and said more heads will roll if they are found involved in financial irregularities.
Gupta termed the action, coming months ahead of the three municipal corporations early next year, as BJP's "zero tolerance" policy.
"Not just councilors but officers of the municipal corporations (MCDs) will also not be spared if they are found involved in corruption," Gupta told PTI.
He said people should make videos if anyone "extorts" money from them in the name of MCDs and provide it to Delhi BJP so that FIR can be registered against them.
The councillors who have been removed from the party over graft charges are Sadulajab councillor Sanjay Thakur in South Delhi Municipal Corporation (SDMC), New Ashok Nagar councillor Rajni Babloo Pandey in East Delhi Municipal Corporation (EDMC) and Mukherjee Nagar councillor Pooja Madan in North Delhi Municipal Corporation, according to the orders issued by Delhi BJP president.
The move comes ahead of the civic polls early next year where corruption and mismanagement in municipalities is likely to be the main issue.
"You (Sanjay Thakur) are informed that due to numerous complaints of corruption against you, you are removed from the primary membership of the party for six years.
"You were many times made aware of this and asked to mend your corrupt behaviour but to no avail. You are removed from the party for six years with immediate effect," the expulsion letter issued to SDMC councillor Sanjay Thakur by Delhi BJP president Adesh Gupta said.
Similar expulsion letters were also issued to EDMC councillor Rajni Babloo Pandey and North MCD councillor Pooja Madan.
Calls made by PTI to seek response of the expelled councillors on the development went unanswered.
The three civic bodies North, East and South are ruled by the BJP while the city government is headed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The AAP is the primary opposition party in three MCDs. The civic bodies are set to undergo election early 2022 where opposition parties (AAP and Congress) will corner the BJP over the issue of "burgeoning corruption".
In 2017 civic polls, the BJP has not given tickets to any of the sitting councillors due to corruption allegations against them.
In last one year many AAP leaders including CM Arvind Kejriwal and his deputy Manish
They had held that corrupt practices by BJP councillors and officials as responsible for poor financial situation of the three municipalities.
AAP leaders had alleged that many BJP councillors were involved in "extortion and other corrupt practices" in all the three civic bodies.
In April this year, senior AAP leader and MLA from Greater Kailash Saurabh Bharadwaj had accused BJP's Saidulajab councillor Sanjay Thakur of being involved in corruption.
Bharadwaj had said that Thakur has a "nexus with local builders" and "extorts money" from common people when they try to do any type of construction in the area.
Similarly, in August last year, senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak had accused New Ashok Nagar councillor Rajni Babloo Pandey and her kin of "extracting money" from people for illegally building houses in the area.
The party had also released an audio recording between a builder and the councillor's brother-in-law where a man was purportedly heard saying that he had given money to civic officials and also to councillor's brother-in-law but still the construction was stalled.
These allegations were, however, denied by the councillor as "baseless".
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Air India resorts to cost-cutting ways amid 'tough times'; layoffs not anticipated
New Delhi/Mumbai (PTI): Hit hard by Pakistan airspace closure and Iran war, Air India has resorted to cost-cutting measures, including holding back annual increments for staff and asking them to cut discretionary spending as well as non-critical expenditures, warning of "tough times".
On Friday, Air India Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director (CEO & MD) Campbell Wilson told the staff it is going to be a "very, very difficult year" if things don't improve on the Middle East front.
A day after the loss-making airline's board discussed various cost-saving steps, Wilson, along with Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Sanjay Sharma and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) Ravindra Kumar GP, addressed the employees during a townhall on Friday where the emphasis on the need to keep a close watch on costs.
With higher jet fuel prices due to the West Asia conflict and airspace curbs, the loss-making airline's expenses have spiralled in recent times and against this backdrop, Sharma also told staffers that FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Calling for a relentless focus on costs in these tough times, Wilson urged employees to suspend discretionary spending, renegotiate rates where feasible, and defer non-critical expenditures.
"There must be a laser-sharp focus on eliminating wastage and leakages," he said.
Stressing the need to tighten the belt for a while, Wilson sounded optimistic that travel demand would rebound and the industry would continue on its upward path.
CHRO Ravindra Kumar told staff that the airline will proceed with variable pay for the last financial year and continue with planned promotions while noting that annual increments will be deferred by at least one quarter.
"We don't anticipate layoffs," he said.
At the airline's board meeting on Thursday, various cost-saving steps, including likely furloughs, were discussed. The Tata Group-owned airline has around 24,000 employees.
Generally, furlough refers to sending staff on unpaid leaves by companies during a tough financial situation.
During the townhall, CFO Sanjay Sharma said while strong revenue growth and fleet expansion drove financial momentum through FY25, FY26 has seen a softening in revenue amid heightened external uncertainties.
Air India has seen around 40 per cent CAGR (Compounded Annual Growth Rate) in revenue between 2022 and 2025, he added.
The airline was acquired by the Tata Group from the government in January 2022.
The Air India CEO mentioned the external challenges being facing the aviation industry as a whole, including the continued closure of Pakistan airspace that is expected to persist for the foreseeable future and geopolitical conflicts leading to disruptions and airspace closures across West Asia.
Wilson, who is set to step down later this year, also flagged a sharp depreciation of the rupee and a 2.5-3 times increase in jet fuel prices, and added that these factors have adversely affected travel sentiment and consumer confidence, as per the sources.
If the Strait of Hormuz opens, oil prices fall and consumer as well as business confidence come back, there is a decent chance of a solid recovery, Wilson said, adding that unless those circumstances happen, it was going to be "a very, very difficult year".
"I feel somewhat responsible that we ended up with probably the biggest surprise of the year in the external environment which was a full-scale war in our neighbouring region in the Gulf. That has had a huge impact on airspace," he said.
For Air India, Wilson said the situation is compounded by the fact that the airline cannot fly over the neighbouring country and has to take a much longer routing for any west-bound destination.
"Every airline is reporting that they are under some sort of financial pressure as a result of higher fuel prices and economic uncertainty. So, it is unfortunately not a great environment to be running an airline," the Air India CEO said.
The Air India Group -- Air India and Air India Express -- is projected to have incurred more than Rs 22,000 crore loss in the financial year ended March 2026.
At the townhall, Wilson also highlighted various initiatives, including completion of the retrofit of its legacy narrow-body aircraft and rapid network optimisation to redeploy capacity more efficiently.
