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Journalism of Courage
Imagine poor Praful Patel8217;s surprise when he sought to present his new civil aviation policy to the Cabinet. It was bold in many ways: it not only plugged into the changing times but also defied the conventional approach of some of his Cabinet colleagues. Its vision statement allowed the Cabinet room to manoeuvre in the future. But it ran into rough weather almost immediately because of one line that said the entire Indian airspace would be for civil aviation purposes. It was enough for Defence Minister A K Antony to cry foul. He argued that the Defence Ministry had control over the country8217;s airspace. Despite Patel8217;s attempts to mollify him, it ended in a stalemate. A GoM was announced, though it was hinted later that his mandarins had already agreed to a GoM even before the Cabinet meet.
