The war of words between the Union Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and senior Congress leader K.C. Venugopal over a surge in airfares continued on June 12, with the former claiming that there has been a considerable decrease in flight prices after the intervention of the government.
The debate began with Mr. Venugopal’s jibe on Twitter on Saturday that the surging airfares has made Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that those wearing “hawai chappal” (rubber slippers) can travel on a “hawai jahaaz” (airplane) sound like a “cruel joke”.
Mr. Scindia, who was Corporate Affairs Minister during the UPA era, accused his former colleague Mr. Venugopal of “cherry picking” facts and forgetting “the step-brotherly treatment given to civil aviation during UPA rule.”
The Minister claimed that the government quickly took cognisance of the surge in air fares in the routes that were serviced by GoFirst, then went bust recently. An advisory was issued to the airlines to self-regulate fares and the Directorate-General of Civil Aviation was told to closely monitor the fares.
“Fares have reduced by up to 60%, and are likely to decline further,” he asserted.
