‘Corrupt’ minister foiled Tata’s airline plans?

Chairman of the country’s largest conglomerate Ratan Tata has said that his plans of coming up with an airline were thwarted by a minister, who had demanded a Rs 15 crore bribe, over a decade ago.

In a piece of revelation that sent out uncomfortable ripples across the country, the Tata Group chairman said, “We went through three governments, to three Prime Ministers. But each time a particular individual thwarted our efforts to form the airline.”

He said that another industrialist had suggested on paying the bribe and going ahead with his plans of setting up a domestic carrier in collaboration with Singapore Airlines, but he refused since he did not want to buy his way into the market.

The aviation minister in 1996, during the Deve Gowda government, C M Ibrahim responded to Tata’s statements by saying he did stop the Tata project by only following protocol of not allowing foreign participation in the aviation industry.

On his part, Tata did not name the minister, who had demanded the bribe. and also spoke on the issue after stating that he did not want an investigation probe into the matter because ‘it could cast shadows on the wrong person’.