Delhi: In a sharp escalation of the political row over the massive disruption in IndiGo’s flight operations, Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Friday echoed Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of the Modi government, accusing it of creating an economic environment where “a handful of people control everything.”
Speaking to reporters, Priyanka said the widespread flight cancellations and thousands of stranded passengers were not an isolated aviation issue, but a symptom of a much deeper structural problem created by the Central government’s policies.
“We all know that across the entire country, most major sectors have been handed over to a few people,” she said. “This concentration of control is the doing of this government, and it is deeply unhealthy. It is not healthy for the economy, it is not healthy for democracy, and it is certainly not healthy for the future of the country.”
Her remarks came shortly after Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi blamed the IndiGo crisis—where over 1,000 flights were cancelled in three days—on what he described as the government’s “monopoly model,” alleging that ordinary citizens were paying the price of policies that favour select corporate groups.
Priyanka reiterated the party’s concern that sectors ranging from aviation to telecommunications were increasingly being dominated by a limited number of players. “When competition dies, accountability dies,” she said. “And when accountability dies, the public suffers exactly what we are witnessing now—chaos, inflated prices, and a total breakdown of services.”
The Congress has demanded a parliamentary review of aviation regulations, transparency in airline compliance, and an inquiry into whether policy decisions have contributed to the current crisis.
Meanwhile, IndiGo has apologised to passengers and informed the DGCA that severe crew shortages and new duty-time norms led to the unprecedented cancellations. The aviation regulator has said it is reviewing the airline’s request for temporary relaxation.
