IndiGo fiasco is cost of govt's monopoly model: Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that the IndiGo "fiasco" is the cost of this government's "monopoly model" and asserted that India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies.
In the wake of IndiGo cancelling over 550 flights on Thursday alone and 400 flights on Friday, disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of passengers, Gandhi said it is ordinary Indians who pay the price in delays, cancellations and helplessness.
"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," the Leader of Opposition said in a post on X.
ALSO READ: IndiGo expects stable flight ops to be fully restored by Feb 10 next year
"India deserves fair competition in every sector, not match-fixing monopolies," Gandhi asserted.
IndiGo on Thursday told aviation watchdog DGCA that operations are expected to be fully stabilised by February 10, 2026, and sought temporary relaxations in flight duty norms on a day when the country's largest airline cancelled more than 550 flights, disrupting the travel plans of hundreds of passengers.
Acknowledging that the flight disruptions happening for the past few days are primarily due to misjudgment and planning gaps in implementing the second phase of the Flight Duty Time Limitations (FDTL) norms, IndiGo also informed the regulator that there will be more cancellations till December 8 and from that day, there will also be a reduction in services.
Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu held a high-level review meeting to assess the situation of significant flight disruptions and expressed his displeasure at the way IndiGo handled the new FDTL norms implementation despite having ample time.
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SIT formed to probe second sexual assault case against expelled Cong MLA Mamkootathil
Thiruvananthapuram (PTI): A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been constituted to probe a second case of sexual assault against expelled Congress MLA Rahul Mamkootathil, police officials said on Friday.
The SIT will be led by G Poonguzhali, Assistant Inspector General at the Police Headquarters.
The team also includes a DSP rank officer and sub-inspectors, officials added.
The second sexual assault complaint was received by the Kerala Pradesh Congress Committee, which it forwarded to the state police chief.
ALSO READ: Cong expels rape-accused MLA Mamkootathil from party's primary membership
Following this, the Crime Branch registered a case and launched an investigation.
Crime Branch officials said the email complaint contained only the sender's email ID and no other contact details.
As part of the probe, they have sent a reply email requesting that the complainant contact them and provide her statement.
The complainant has alleged that she was sexually assaulted under the false promise of marriage, a Crime Branch official said.
However, details such as the location and date of the alleged incident are not currently available to the police.
The SIT will attempt to trace the sender of the email and record her statement, which is crucial for further investigation, the officer said.
Mamkootathil was expelled from the Congress party on Thursday after a court here rejected his anticipatory bail petition in another rape case.
Police said he is currently absconding, and a manhunt is underway in Kerala and neighbouring states.
