The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Parliament stalled over new airport name

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Wednesday, Mar 16, 2005

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Parliament stalled over new airport name

By Our New Delhi Bureau

NEW DELHI, MARCH 15. Backed by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), members of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) stalled both Houses of Parliament today — forcing a brief adjournment of the Rajya Sabha — in protest against the Government's decision to name the new airport at Shamshabad in Hyderabad after Rajiv Gandhi.

Demanding that the new airport be named after the former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister, N. T. Rama Rao, the TDP accused the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government of insulting his memory by not doing so, and thereby hurting the sentiments of the Telugu people. Also, the Opposition wanted to know in what capacity the UPA chairperson, Sonia Gandhi, was going to lay the foundation stone of the new airport with V. K. Malhotra of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stating that she had ``no constitutional status.'' In both Houses, the Government said the new airport was being named after the former Prime Minister and there was no move to rename the existing domestic terminal at Begumpet, which is named after N. T. Rama Rao. Intervening in the Lok Sabha, the Leader of the House, Pranab Mukherjee, said: "The airport in Hyderabad was named after Rajiv Gandhi in 1992. Thereafter, a change was made and one part was named after Rajiv Gandhi and another after N. T. Rama Rao. The proposed new airport will be named after Rajiv Gandhi, and the existing one will bear both names.''

TDP's pet project

Echoing this in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State for Civil Aviation, Praful Patel, said the Greenfield airport at Shamshabad was a pet project of the former TDP Government in the State and the UPA Government had only completed the formalities by giving all approvals and clearing the stumbling blocks. He said the private consortium's board — which is promoting the project — and the present State Government had decided to name the new airport after Rajiv Gandhi.

The issue was raised in both Houses almost simultaneously during zero hour with TDP members bringing it up — K. Yerran Naidu in the Lok Sabha and Ravula Chandra Sekar Reddy in the Rajya Sabha. While it held up proceedings for about a quarter of an hour in the Lok Sabha — culminating in a brief walkout by the NDA — uproarious scenes forced an early adjournment for lunch in the Rajya Sabha with the Opposition, including the All-India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, protesting against the move.

M. Venkaiah Naidu (BJP) questioned the rationale in naming the airport after Rajiv Gandhi when in most cities of the country, airports were named after local leaders.

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