It is not just that the chairman of India's most successful airline became the butt of jokes (television channels played and replayed Naresh Goyal's melodramatic interview), it is also a question of what he knew, when he knew it and who did the bungling.

If Goyal did not know of the sacking, as he claimed on TV, it makes one wonder how he functions as the admittedly hands-on chairman of a publicly listed company.

I for one refuse to believe that 'his management' would take such a grave step without consulting him or taking his approval.

If, on the other hand, he did know about it (which, by all indications and according to sources within the company, he did), then what does the hypocritical act that he performed on television say about this aviation pioneer?

Text: Anjuli Bhargava, Business Standard

Image: Jet Airways chairman Naresh Goyal smiles during the inauguration ceremony of India Aviation 2008 at Begumpet Airport in Hyderabad on October 15, 2008. | Photograph: Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images

Also read: Meltdown: Thousands of jobs to go globally!

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