2 min readMumbaiNov 13, 2011 06:00 PM IST
First published on: Nov 13, 2011 at 06:00 PM IST
Top industrialist Rahul Bajaj today strongly opposed any bailout attempt by the government for the debt-ridden private sector entity Kingfisher Airlines,saying ‘those who die,must die’ in a free economy.
“I am a proud private sector man and I don’t see any logic of bailing out any private sector company,either for sake of employees,or customers,” the Bajaj group patriarch said at the Indian summit of World Economic Forum here.
“If Bajaj auto gets into a mess,would you bail me out?
If it’s a free market economy,those who die must die,” Bajaj told the private TV channel NDTV at the summit.
His comments came a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said that steps would have to be taken to help private sector entities if they get into difficulties.
“Private sector airlines have to be managed efficiently. But if they do get into difficulties,we have to find ways and means to help them to get out of the process,” Singh had said.
The Prime Minister said that he would talk to civil aviation minister Vayalar Ravi and “we will explore ways and means in which the airlines can be helped.”
After Kingfisher Airlines chief Vijay Mallya sought government help for meeting the financial challenges caused at the airline because of rising costs and high debt burden,Ravi had said that he would talk to the Finance Ministry and others to see whether banks and oil firms could provide some relief to the the cash-strapped airline.
While opposing any government bailout,Bajaj,however,expressed his displeasure over the high taxes hurting airline sector.
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