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PM assures Left on airports modernisation plan

December 21, 2005 21:12 IST

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Wednesday assured the Left leaders that the government would look into the complaints of 'irregularities and malpractices' in the exercise of modernisation of Mumbai, Delhi and other airports.

The assurance came when a delegation of the Left parliamentarians met Dr Singh in his office in Parliament House on Wednesday evening to apprise him of prevalence of 'corrupt practices' in the whole move to privatise the airports.

Revolutionary SP MP Manoj Bhattacharya, who was also part of the delegation, told UNI that the prime minister had assured them that the government might 're-look' on the whole gamut of modernisation process.

The other members of the delegation, which were with Dr Singh for about half-an-hour, were Communist Party of India (Marxist) leaders - Sitaram Yechuri and Nilotpal Basu.

Bhattacharya said they had also told the prime minister of the 'full-fledged' scam in the transfer of assets of the Nagpur airport to the Maharashtra government.

The scam involves the waiving off of stamp duty to the tune of Rs 250 crore.

The Left parties, who oppose the government's privatisation moves, argue that while they are not against the modernisation of the airports as such, but see no need for any Foreign Direct Investment for the purpose.

They contend that the Indian Airports Authority of India should be entrusted with the task as it had acquired the requisite expertise for the job.

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