Unions accuse ex-Air India chief of graft, seek probe

The letter also asked the minister to investigate Thulasidas’s role in the contracts given to Accenture Consulting, the firm appointed by the government to carry out a feasibility study on the merger between the two national carriers and also oversee the entire process.

However, Thulasidas remained unperturbed when asked about the content of the letter. According to him, except for one, other union bodies under the umbrella organisation of the Bharatiya Kamgar Sena, which is headed by Shiv Sena leader Kiran Pawaskar, are not recognised by Air India, and therefore their accusations do not matter. “Whether it’s a question of buying new aircraft or anything else, the decision is taken at the government level and there are various ministries involved,” he said. “So you cannot blame me as I left office in March 2008, barely six months after Air India and Indian Airlines merged,” he added.

Kiran Pawaskar could not be reached for comments.

“You cannot blame me as I left office in March 2008, barely six months after Air India and Indian Airlines merged”V Thulasidas