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Rai launches a heatseeker in Boeing 777 sale [Mail Today (India)](Mail Today (India) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Rai refers to two M AIL T ODAY stories to highlight Air India's sale of B777s for ` 427 cr each His book highlights that 777s were purchased for ` 1,300 cr apiece but sold just after five years FORMER Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) Vinod Rai has referred to two stories broken by M AIL T ODAY in April to highlight the deep mess in the aviation sector in his controversial book The Diary of the Nation's Conscience Keeper— Not Just an Accountant. The book refers to the M AIL T ODAY stories about Air India's (AI) Boeing 777s that were purchased for a staggering ` 1,300 crore apiece and expected to serve the national carrier for 25 years. However, they were sold at a dirt- cheap price in a distress sale to Etihad Airways just five years later. The chapter on civil aviation opens with, "If the above statements are true, why did we make the purchases and within five years of the delivery of the aircraft, sell them at roughly ` 427 crore each to Etihad Airways after having purchased them in 2005 for ` 1,300 per aircraft? How did our assessment go so horribly wrong? Have we held those responsible accountable? Indeed, will we ever be able to so? When will we learn from our mistakes?" Rai told MAIL TODAY in an exclusive interview on Monday, "An inquiry is needed into the issue. Some kind of a post- mortem is required as to why the decision got so horribly wrong." The book points out that the Boeing 777ERs had not been recommended by AI's expert committee but suddenly bounced into contention on August 2, 2004, when the then- civil aviation minister had a meeting with the civil aviation secretary and AI's chairmancum- managing director. It was decided at the meeting that the career would revise its fleet acquisition plans. Ultimately, "the PMO accepted the civil aviation ministry's new proposal for buying 68 wide- bodied Boeing aircraft on December 30, 2004. The civil aviation ministry then passed it on to Air India immediately and the national carrier signed the agreement with Boeing on that very day," the book states. While Praful Patel was the civil aviation minister at the time, the book does not mention his name. Meanwhile, Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam slapped a legal notice on Rai on Monday accusing him of defamation and threatened to launch criminal proceedings if he does not apologise for remarks that he had asked the former chief auditor to drop former PM Manmohan Singh's name from 2G report. In the notice, Nirupam's lawyer asked Rai to tender an unconditional apology in writing within 15 days of the receipt of the notice. "Failing which, I have strict instructions to initiate appropriate proceedings against you, including criminal proceedings against you at your cost and peril," he said in the notice. (c) 2014 India Today Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (Syndigate.info). |