The Crucial Cabinet Committee on disinvestment meeting in New Delhi on Wednesday, is likely to reject the Hindujas' demand for complete freedom to 'rightsize' the manpower in Air India even as it will finalise the shareholders' agreement for privatisation of the national flag carrier. Significantly, the CCD meeting will be held after the cabinet committee on security takes up the important decision whether or not to allow the Hindujas in the race for Air India disinvestment, as they have been chargesheeted in the bofors case. Since there are only two bidders for Air India, Tata-Singapore Airlines being the other one, the CCD will have to take a decision whether the government should go ahead with the disinvestment process even if a single bidder is left in the race. Earlier last week, Mr Srichand P Hinduja had written to disinvestment minister Arun Shourie and Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee lodging his protests over efforts to 'sideline' the Hindujas on the security concern. He argued that the charges were yet to be framed in the bofors case.
The government has already completed the entire intelligence exercise about the bidders. ''All intelligence reports of RAW, IB etc have been sent to the cabinet committee on security, Mr Shourie had said.
The CCS is also likely to decide whether the industrial houses and firms, indicted by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, can be allowed to bid for the public sector companies put on the block. The CCS decision, on this account, will determine the fate of the tainted Videocon, Sterlite industries and BPL group who have made their bids for Indian Airlines, Hindustan Zinc and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd respectively.
CCD is expected to approve the shareholders' agreement for the cash-rich computer maintenance corporation in which the employees have also made a bid with a backing of venture capital funds.
Bureau Report