Air India Disinvestment, Petrol Prices to Feature in RSS-BJP Meet

Amit Shah, Piyush Goyal and Suresh Prabhu are among those likely to attend the meeting.

(Photo: The Quint)

Disinvestment of Air India and rise in prices of petrol and diesel are likely to feature in an important coordination meeting of the RSS, BJP and the government scheduled for Tuesday, 29 May.

This year, RSS organisations have planned their meetings from 28-31 May in Delhi.

BJP president Amit Shah, Finance and Railways Minister Piyush Goyal, and Commerce and Civil Aviation Minister Suresh Prabhu are among those likely to attend the meeting. It will be chaired by RSS joint general secretary Krishan Gopal.

The sangh's economic group, comprising Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh, Bhartiya Kisan Sangh, Laghu Udyog Bharti and Swadeshi Jagran Manch, will present their reports and feedback on various economic policies of the government.

Sources said that the issues of Air India disinvestment and rise in prices of petrol and diesel would feature in the meeting.

Earlier, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat had categorically said that Air India should not be sold to a foreign buyer. 

Bhartiya Mazdoor Sangh and Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) have also opposed its disinvestment in the current form. According to the SJM, Air India has operating profits, but is running into losses due to its debts. It suggested that government should monetise the assets of the national carrier to repay its debt.

The Centre has invited 'expression of interest' to sell 76 percent stake and management control in the airline.

The Indian government owns 100 percent equity of Air India. The government has injected more than Rs 23,000 crore since 2012 to bail out the airline.

Meet with BJP Chief, Ministers Not Coordination Meeting: RSS

The RSS has said that its ongoing meeting with the BJP and union ministers is not a coordination meeting but an exercise to interchange the ideas.

“These are not Samanvay (coordination) meetings neither these are decision-making meetings,” RSS all-India prachar pramukh Arun Kumar said in a statement.

On completion of four years of the Narendra Modi dispensation, BJP chief Amit Shah along with six Cabinet ministers, on Monday, 28 May, met top functionaries of the RSS to deliberate on government programmes and policies, including the much-awaited education policy.

Kumar said the various RSS organisations working in the same field occasionally come together to share their experiments, experiences and observations.

To enable detailed discussions, these organisations are grouped in various groups working in the same field, he said. They are grouped as Seva (service activities) Vaicharik (intellectual arena), Arthik (economy), Shiksha (education), Samajik (social activities), etc.

He also said such group meetings are taking place every year since 2007.

The meeting of the Sangh, its affiliates, the BJP, and the government was chaired by RSS joint general secretary Krishna Gopal.

The BJP was represented by Shah, party vice-president Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, general secretary Ram Madhav and secretary (organisation) Ram Lal.

The government was represented by the six ministers – Rajyavardhan Rathore, JP Nadda, Maneka Gandhi, Mahesh Sharma, Prakash Javadekar and Thawarchand Gehlot.