A Government bailout without CAG audit?

I was down for my after dinner smoke when the news that Vijay Mallaya’s Kingfisher Airlines had  requested for a bailout from the Government of India broke, and there were two or three telling comments expressed, which, I couldn’t really counter - not that I expressed my views.  It would need a better than me to clarify, I guess.

The trending views seems that if the Kingfisher group is begging the Government of India for assistance, then there should be 5 things to be ‘looked at’:

1. how much tax has Kingfisher airlines paid the GoI over the last few years
2. what will be the bailout w.r.t. the percentage of their earlier ‘income’ paid to the GoI?
3. how much has been spent by the Kingfisher on various spurious outings (an ego trip of Mallaya - was how it was put) on Formula-1, IPL (especially the parties) and others which public doesn’t know
4. how much control or returns the GoI (or the public whose tax rupees will be used) will get back - anything less than 8% (what the postal department pays the public for saving deposits with them in the Public Provident Fund) seems unacceptable
5. a CAG audit on all the group’s business activities to see if funds have been transferred here and forth

Of which I can find fault or difference with only the last point (5).  A bailout cannot wait for a CAG audit, which might take a few months.  So if a bailout is offered it should be with an MOU which should necessarily encompass all of the above public’s concern.

After all, many of the points are similar to what the US Government did (or did not) do, in its bailout of Wall Street and look what trouble President Obama is in, now.

As I said, it is difficult to find fault with the public sentiments.

BTW if the private airlines are in such a mess, isn’t it time that the GoI utilises this opportunity to bolster up the Maharaja - the national airlines?

Can we deny Rs. 4500 Crores to AirIndia now?

Thank God for socialists like Vayalar Ravi who can still express such sentiments.  Whether he can carry the days of Montek Singh is yet to be seen!

With this revelation, it also brings to question the former Airline Minister Praful Patel’s fervent wish  to sell off the Maharaja back in 2009.  Is there another CBI investigation and cell at Tihar prison getting ready?

For the record, surprising, (perhaps not so), the national opposition party has expressed that it is against such bailouts.

My wicked half whispers, ‘How this development is going to change the politics in Tamil Nadu?’

Salam, Maharaja!  You day seems to be back!
PS:  Corrected reference to deposits with Post Office fetching 8% interest (12 Nov 2011)

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