Fare game

The attempt to form a forum to protect the interests of domestic airlines seems to be falling apart even before it was put together.

The attempt to form a forum to protect the interests of domestic airlines seems to be falling apart even before it was put together. Representatives of 10 domestic airlines attended a meeting in Mumbai last week to evolve a common strategy since all are losing money. The meeting was initiated by Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel keeping in mind the crisis facing the airline industry. The owners and CEOs made a gallant effort to bury longstanding rivalries and put on a friendly face for the get-together. Air India chairman V Thulasidas was unanimously appointed chairperson since he is considered the only neutral party as his carrier steers clear of domestic traffic.

The decision to set up a trade body to lobby with the government, which would be based in Delhi, was readily agreed to. The snag was reaching an understanding on the issue of fares. Full service carriers, Indian Airlines, Jet, Sahara and Kingfisher are competing against the low-cost carriers which have built up a market by undercutting the big operators. It was decided that no low-cost airline would charge less that Rs 2 per km, for instance a ticket from Delhi to Mumbai could not be priced below Rs 3600. Although some were initially reluctant to go along with the concept of a minimum price ticket 8212; with one airline protesting that its ticketing policy was totally different from the conventional model 8212; eventually all fell in line.

A day after the meeting, somebody leaked news of the proposal to the Competition Commission which is now thinking of taking up the issue with the civil aviation secretary on the grounds that the about-to-be-formed trade body sounds more like a cartel than a pressure group. At any rate, it will give the under-employed competition commission some much needed work!

Hit or fop

Shivraj Patil is known as a natty dresser who takes pains to be immaculately turned out with slickly combed hair, matching ties and handkerchiefs. Which is why wags joke that Patil is an ideal candidate to become the minister of external affairs, in which capacity you interact with dignitaries from all over the world.

Some of Patil8217;s cabinet colleagues are, however, not impressed by his sartorial elegance. Last week, Patil turned up for a Cabinet meeting in a smart black bandh gala with a red handkerchief sticking out of his coat pocket. Three hours later, there was a second Cabinet meeting and this time the minister was wearing a crease-proof white safari suite. One minister passed a catty chit to another wondering how the home minister had enough time to change his outfits.

Executive dump

The concept of a proper record room for keeping a methodical track of all decisions taken by a ministry is a fairly recent one, points out Wajahat Habibullah Chief Information Officer of the Right to Information Commission. Habibullah recalls that when he was working for former PM Rajiv Gandhi in the early 8216;80s he had a glimpse of the record room in South Block and was amazed to discover that along with dusty files piled up haphazardly were all sorts of odds and ends. The room had carpets, trinkets, artifacts and statuettes, since in those days, the record room was not just a dumping ground for old files but also a store house for official gifts to the prime minister.

Ramzan rumble

At the fag-end of UP Chief Minister Mulayam Singh Yadav8217;s tenure, the rats are beginning to desert his sinking ship. Some politicians still enjoy the fruits of power courtesy of the chief minister even though they are making their unhappiness with the Samajwadi Party government public. Yadav for his own reasons has not thrown out such disloyal elements but is biding his time.

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The most obvious case is that of UP8217;s Haj and Minority Welfare Minister Haji Yakub Qureshi who attended Ram Vilas Paswan8217;s Iftar party recently and went on record damning Yadav8217;s government. Qureshi said it was well known that Yadav has done little for Muslims. RLD chief Ajit Singh8217;s lieutenant Anuradha Chaudhary continues as chairperson of the Irrigation Commission, including management of ground water 8212; a post which is the equivalent of a minister in Yadav8217;s cabinet 8212; even though it is clear that Ajit is just biding his time before he makes a switch. Even minister of Sports R K Chaudhary, who quit BSP to join Yadav, has made it plain that he is looking for greener pastures.