Accusing Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh of making policy statements on Air India outside Parliament during the session period, the CPM, the JDU and the BJP on Tuesday moved a privilege notice against him in the Lok Sabha.

“We have tabled a notice of privilege against the Civil Aviation Minister (Ajit Singh) in the House and demanded that he come and explain why he made policy statements on the issue outside when Parliament is in session,” CPM leader Basudeb Acharia told reporters.

His statement came soon after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Civil Aviation Minister Shahnawaz Hussain said Singh committed breach of privilege and a notice would be moved against him in the Lok Sabha.

Earlier, Civil Aviation Minister Ajit Singh came under attack in Parliament over the ongoing crisis in the national carrier, Air India (AI), as the biggest opposition party — BJP — raised the issue in Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, led the charge demanding Singh’s presence in the House to answer questions on the crisis that has crippled the airline because of the ongoing strike of pilots.

The Opposition argued that while Parliament was in session and the issue was yet to come up for discussion, Singh could not make statements on civil aviation policy outside.

They also wanted to know from the government what it was doing to end the deadlock as the pilots’ strike has been causing massive inconvenience to the passengers.