Friday, May 13 2005 09:48 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Government yesterday (May 12, 2005) dismissed in the Lok Sabha allegations of foul play in the Air India's (AI) decision to buy aircraft from Boeing, saying the country's international carrier had followed laid down procedures.

The allegations regarding Air India's selection of Boeing aircraft for purchase are "baseless" and "not based on facts", Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel told the House in a written reply.

He said AI has followed the laid down procedures in aircraft evaluation.

A Request For Proposal (RFP) was issued to the manufacturers laying down AI's requirement of the aircraft, Patel said, adding evaluation was carried out within the ambit of the RFP and there were no deviations as alleged in a news report.

"Equal opportunities were given to both aircraft manufacturers for submitting competitive bids," he said.