Shiv Sena urges govt to save Jet Airways, staff

Mumbai: Rushing to the rescue of Jet Airways, the Shiv Sena on Monday urged the NDA government to take over the temporarily grounded private carrier Jet Airways and save its staff from losing their jobs.

In an editorial in its mouthpiece Saamana, the Sena asked the Centre to take a cue from former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi and nationalise insurance companies and airlines. Jet Airways temporarily ceased all its operations last week.

The editorial said that the curse of those rendered jobless would be more powerful than that of a “Sadhvi”, while hig-hlighting the consequen-ces of the temporary shu-tdown of the 25-year-old airline. “The curse of the staff that is now unemployed is more powerful than that of a ‘sadhvi’. The government could have avoided such a situation,” the editorial said.

It was referring to rem-arks made by the BJP leader Sadhvi Pragya Singh Thakur who is also an accused in Malegaon blast case. She recently claimed that senior poli-ce officer Hemant Karkare was killed during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks as she had “cursed” him for torturing her.

“Such incidents underscore the foresight of Pandit Nehru and Indira Gandhi and their insistence on nationalisation of insurance companies and airlines in the country. The Prime Minister needs to show similar foresight in the matter of Jet Airways,” said Sena.