NCP leader Jayant Patil welcomes Praful Patel's term as Union Min of Civil Aviation

The state unit president of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) Jayant Patil on Saturday hailed Praful Patel's term as the Union Minister for Civil Aviation, adding that he was responsible for making flights more accessible to Indians. "I do not want to react today. I don't think there is an issue in that, because of Praful Patel India has several new airports. There was great momentum in civil aviation sector thanks to Patel and the common man also started flying because the price of airfare came down," Patil said at a press conference here.

Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Saturday summoned former Civil Aviation Minister and NCP leader Praful Patel to appear before the agency on June 6 in connection with the airline seat allotment scam case. Speaking to ANI, Patel said in response to the notice: "I will be happy to cooperate with the Enforcement Directorate to help them understand the complexities of the aviation sector."

Patil asserted that Praful Patel had done a commendable job in the Congress government and added that he would be able to satisfactorily answer all queries posed by the ED. "I think that Patel's work was commendable during that period. The decisions taken back then were made by a Group of Ministers and he will be able to satisfy the agency adequately. I also don't think it is a setback to the image of the party," said Patil.

Earlier on March 30, the law enforcement agency had filed a charge sheet against the accused corporate lobbyist Deepak Talwar in which the name of the minister had also come up. The agency in its charge sheet had alleged that Talwar was in touch with Patel.

Talwar was extradited by Dubai authorities on January 30 along with Dubai-based businessman Rajeev Saxena. The ED had alleged that Talwar was involved in cases related to corporate lobbying. He is accused of facilitating the dispersal of profit making routes of Air India to private airlines using his contacts. 

(With inputs from agencies.)