The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday criticised the Centre’s decision to appoint Arvind Jadhav as the chairman and managing director (CMD) of Air India. The Opposition also demanded an explanation from Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on the controversial selection.
Senior BJP leaders have alleged that norms were manipulated and the PMO had intervened in the process of appointing Jadhav, and the Prime Minister should take steps to remove him from the post.
“The Prime Minister had assured that the Union government would give careful attention to the problems of Air India but a close scrutiny of the minutes of the meeting on the appointment indicate how all norms were subverted and the appointment was manipulated,” said BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy.
Rudy alleged that the search committee headed by the then cabinet secretary K M Chandrashekhar had initially rejected Jadhav’s appointment.
The BJP leader said the minutes of the meeting of the selection committee on March 24, 2008 suggested the name of Raghu Menon for the post. However, when the committee again met in April 2009, it decided to appoint Jadav from the list of officers who had applied for the post in 2008.
“We fail to understand why once again the old, outdated, lapsed panel which had been considered and exhausted a year ago, was subsequently fished out for the recommendation of three names which included the name of Arvind Jadhav. The usual life of public enterprises selection board (PESB) panel is six months,” said Rudy, adding that the BJP had filed an RTI application to find out the names, qualifications and work experience of the other two officers who were considered by the selection committee.
“The CMD is an Indian Administrative Services officer, a civil servant whom the government of India posts at its discretion. He has to obey. I am not privy to the government procedure and process,” said a AI spokesperson.
Rudy has written a letter to the Prime Minister alleging that the appointment of Jadhav was manipulated to bring in an officer whose credentials were doubtful. “Since the decision was taken at the topmost level which included the principal secretary to the Prime Minister, the onus of the Prime Minister’s assent to the whole selection process cannot be ignored.”
