The draft report had slammed the government’s plan to disinvest the ailing national carrier and suggested that the airline must continue to be state-owned, albeit with less government control. It gave as many as eleven reasons on why the government should not sell stake in AI to other airlines.

But taking advantage of the absence of chairman Derek O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress, BJP lawmakers who are members of the parliamentary committee on transport forcibly withdrew the panel’s “adverse” draft report on Air India’s divestment.

At Monday’s meeting of the parliamentary committee on transport, sparks flew between the BJP’s Lok Sabha member Rakesh Singh and members of the Congress and other Opposition parties after he proposed the withdrawal of the controversial report. Singh acted as the chairman in the absence of the Trinamool leader and adopted a proposal to withdraw the draft report.

The draft report created a stir even as the government said that it would go ahead and divest part of its stake in the loss-making state-owned airline.

On Monday, the BJP claimed that all parliamentary rules were followed in its trashing of the draft report and that the ruling National Democratic Alliance has a majority in the 31-member panel. O’Brien said the move proved the BJP wants “to destroy all institutions”. “ We will counsel them,” he added.

According to two eye witnesses, CPI(M)’s Ritabrata Banerjee, Congress’ Kumari Selja and Trinamool’s Arpita Ghosh engaged in a heated debate with the BJP lawmakers and eventually walked out before the draft report was withdrawn.

BJP leaders claimed that on January 8, a memorandum signed by 16 panel members, all from the NDA, had objected to the draft report. They raked up the same memorandum on Monday the agenda of the meeting was to discuss development of Buddhist Circuit and rejected the Air India draft report.

Draft reports are typically prepared by the chairman and circulated before being amended, accepted, or rejected by the members.

The BJP member also pointed out that the Opposition members of the panel seemed to be waiting for an opportunity to adopt the draft report and cause embarrassment to the government in Parliament.

“Once adopted, the Opposition leaders could have shown that the entire panel, including the National Democratic Alliance members, are opposed to disinvesting the government’s stake in the national carrier. We did not give them that chance.” he added.