Civil aviation minister Ajit Singh met UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi on Thursday morning, triggering speculation that the minister was unhappy with the stand taken by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and, therefore, wanted to set the record straight on both the `2,050-crore Jet-Etihad deal and India-UAE aviation bilateral seat entitlement-hike agreement.
However, later on Thursday, Mr Ajit Singh sought to dismiss speculation that he may have complained to the Congress president or that he was contemplating resignation, saying that he had actually met the UPA chairperson to invite her for the foundation-stone-laying ceremony of the proposed National Aviation Unive-rsity at Indira Gandhi Uran Academy Complex in Fursatganj, Rae Bareli, which is also Mrs Gandhi’s Lok Sabha constituency. Mr Singh is understood to have claimed that both the Jet-Etihad deal and the recent India-UAE aviation agreement did not even come up during the meeting although speculation is rife that the issue was discussed. “The Airports Authority of India (AAI) was keen that the foundation-stone-laying ceremony be held before July 15. Mrs Gandhi has accepted the invitation and has agreed to attend. The date of the foundation-stone-laying ceremony will be decided shortly,” Mr Singh said.
***
Advani, modi made to sit side by side
Age Correspondent
New Delhi, July 4
Reinforcing the concept of collective leadership by deciding that the BJP’s campaign committee, headed by Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, will work closely with the party’s parliamentary board in finalising poll strategy, a deliberate attempt was madeat the board’s meeting to make party stalwart L.K. Advani and Mr Modi sit beside each other. While Mr Advani endorsed most of Mr Modi’s views and those of other leaders, he also rejected suggestions that tickets should be given only to “winnable” candidates.