Senior Aviation Ministry officials have now asked the Union Minister for Civil Aviation Sharad Yadav to intervene and take the issue to the Union Cabinet as hundreds of crores are at stake with Vittal's veto on any kind of bargaining with aircraft companies. Vittal's directive sent last week to the Civil Aviation Secretary R Gupta has set the ministry buzzing as it has virtually put a stop to any kind of purchase negotiations for Air India (A-I) and Indian Airlines (IA) which are in line for extensive fleet renewal. Vittal's strongly worded letter is in response to a demand seeking exemption from the ban on post-tender negotiations made by the former Aviation Secretary, P V Jayakrishnan justa day before he was transferred.

When contacted by The Indian Express, Vittal said that while he would not divulge details of inter-ministerial dealings, he would not allow any post-tender negotiations by any wing of the government. He added that he had considered the aviation ministry's case and then taken his decision.The Aviation Ministry had pleaded with the CVC to allow them to hold several rounds of negotiations with the two major players in the aircraft sector - Boeing and Airbus. The letter from Jayakrishan had that this was a specific exemption "since it was a well known fact that we can achieve the best possible price only by playing one company against the other".

The Aviation Ministry also contended that this had been the existing practice and several safe-guards were in place to ensure that the sensitive decision avoided any controversy. The letter from Jayakrishnan made it clear that the purchase process had been "sanitised to ensure that all vested interests be purged and a decision bemade in the country's best interest".

Vittal, however, insisted that post-tender negotiations were the fountainhead for all hanky-panky and he for one would not award any post-facto approval to bargaining with the two companies.