New Delhi: The Airport Authority of India Employees Union on Wednesday opposed the government's decision to privatise various airports in the country and said the union would go on a hunger strike if the decision was not withdrawn by the government.
The opposition of the Airport Authority of India Union is against the decision to privatise 6 airports operated by the Airport Authority of India, which have now been allowed by the government to operate under Public-Private Partnership. These 6 airports - Ahmedabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Lucknow, Bangalore, Jaipur and Guwahati which will now be owned by the Adani Group.
Manjinder Rana, Joint General Secretary of the Indian Airports Workers Union, while speaking to ETV Bharat said that the government is privatizing the airports which are already been run better by the Airport Authority. If the government wants to privatise the airports, they should develop airports in far-flung cities of India and entrust the operations to private companies. He said that the airports which give us profits are being privatized, whereas the airports which are running in losses are being entrusted to the Airport Authority.
He said that if the government does not take back the decision to privatize the airports, then we will go on a nationwide hunger strike and if need be, we will stop the work and protest against the government.
Congress leader Udit Raj said that the government had created companies for the public to earn income, but now the government is privatizing the same companies and ending their medium of income. He said that not only airports are being privatised but the same arrangement is being done by the government in many other companies including Indian Railways and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited.
He further said that the victims of all the companies will have to come together to make a big movement only then the government will change its decision.
Also read: Skilling people, providing jobs in rural & tribal areas should be priority: Gadkari