Zoo Station

Most of you that follow news in India are probably aware that Jet Airways has been involved in talks to take over Air Sahara in an attempt to increase its marketshare. Now, it turns out that the Left parties have decided to spike this deal and they have a very curious reason for not wanting Jet Airways to buy Sahara. Over to Comrade Abani Roy of the RSP.

One of the Left parties that supports the UPA Government has alleged that the Sahara acquisition deal, along with a strategic alliance between Jet and Air Deccan, would result in one cartel controlling around 60 per cent of the domestic aviation market in the country. In a seven-page letter to Finance Minister P Chidambaram, and Law Minister H R Bharadwaj, RSP leader Abani Roy, said that they should intervene immediately in this monopolistic attempt and motives to capture the Indian skies, which would not only be anti-competitive, but anti-consumer.

Eh? Since when have the Left parties been concerned about the Indian consumer, or providing her with non-monopolistic and competitive markets? And if they are seriously interested in competition, why not open up the retail sector, airports, railways and every other sector that they alone have been holding up to protect their constituents in organised labour? For that matter, has it occured to them that the PSUs that they refuse to privatize are also monopolies -- with marketshares well in excess of the 60% Jet-Sahara may have -- and that the consumer is in fact hurt by the monopolistic practices of these state-run firms (think telecom sector before 1995)?

At times, I wonder if these Lefties actually think before they make these proclamations or whether they're just permanently in vacuous motormouth mode, confident that noone will call them on their bullshit.