AI piolt wants yr-long notice period for defecting politicos

Miffed by a DGCA proposal of a year's notice period for pilots, one of their union leaders today demanded that politicians too must serve their party for a year after giving it a notice to quit it.

Capt S Sabu, a former former general secretary of Indian Commercial Pilot Association made this demand in his Facebook post a day after aviation regulator DGCA proposed to make it mandatory for the airlines commanders to serve their employers for a year after putting in their papers.

Capt Sabu, presently serving national carrier Air India, also urged the government to enact a suitable law barring politicians from defecting to other parties without serving the notice period.

While proposing to extend the notice period for commanders to one year from six months at present, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation has said this is being done in "public interest" to avoid cancellations and delays, which might be caused if pilots quit their jobs suddenly or at short notice.

"The government should also enact an Act of Parliament, whereby politicians of the registered political parties give a notice of at least one year before they switch their allegiance," he said.

"It will also be beneficial for the citizens of this country if the bureaucrats also are required to serve a notice of one year when they desire to resign from service. This will serve as a deterrent to those who put in their papers when superseded by their juniors," the pilot said in the post.

Pointing out that "the public very often witness governments getting toppled by unscrupulous politicians, who jump from one party to another," Capt Sabu said, "Not only does it cause political instability, but also costs the public exchequer dear in terms of election expenses."

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)