Review plea will harm brotherhood:Rizvi

With PM storyNew Delhi, November 24

Filing a review petition challenging the Supreme Court’s Ayodhya verdict will not be in the interest of Muslims and will “harm” Hindu-Muslim unity, National Commission for Minorities chairperson Ghayorul Hasan Rizvi said today.

He said such a move would send out a message to the Hindus that they were trying to put roadblocks in the way of building Ram Temple. He also urged the Muslim side to accept the five-acre alternative land to be given for a mosque, stressing they would be respecting the judiciary by doing so.

In an interview, Rizvi said the NCM had held a meeting after the Supreme Court verdict and all its members in one voice had said the verdict should be accepted. “Review petition should not be filed at all because all sides, including the All-India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) and the Jamiat Ulema-i-Hind, had promised that the verdict by the Supreme Court will be respected,” he said.

He alleged that the AIMPLB and the Jamiat were going back on their word. He wondered what was the point of the Muslim bodies in filing a review petition if they were also saying the review petition would be rejected “100 per cent”.

“The common Muslim of this country is not in favour of a review petition because he or she does not want that matters which have been settled are again raised and the community gets caught up in such things,” the NCM chief added. PTI

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Lufthansa to ‘strengthen’ partnership with Vistara

New Delhi, November 24

With Jet Airways shutting down in April, the Lufthansa group is planning to “strengthen” its partnership with Indian airlines like Vistara and Air India in 2020, the top Indian official of the largest European carrier said.

Currently, the Lufthansa airline group has an interline agreement with Vistara, which allows a passenger to check-in luggage at the first airport itself for the whole journey consisting of flights of both airlines.

“With Vistara…we are strengthening our relationship in the weeks to come. Jet Airways was one of our partners here in India and with them having left the scene, we are looking for Indian airlines to partner up with,” Ettiyil said.

Asked if Lufthansa was planning to convert its interline agreement with Vistara to a codeshare agreement, he said, “We are trying to strengthen it. Let us see what the future holds in store.” The European carrier has a codeshare agreement with Air India, which allows one airline’s passenger to book a ticket on the other airline, using the first one’s ticketing system. The Indian government is planning to sell Air India to a private player by March next. PTI