Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee (DCC) will hold a torchlight protest rally, demanding the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to name Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) after an achiever from Tulunadu.
The Congress, which is opposing the handing over of the MIA to Adani Group for maintenance, will hold a 10km-long torchlight protest rally from Circuit House in the city to the MIA at Kenjar at 5pm on Wednesday, said District Youth Congress president Mithun Rai.
It is our second phase of protest series, in which a torchlight rally will be held, demanding replacement of boards with ‘Adani Airports’ with ‘Koti-Chennaya’. We expect participation of nearly 600 party workers in the rally. Former minister B Ramanath Rai, DCC president K Harish Kumar, Mangaluru MLA U T Khader and other leaders will take part in the rally, he said.
“They have neglected the culture and heritage of Tulunadu by writing Adani Airports on MIA’s board. Our people’s representatives are keeping mum on this. The Dakshina Kannada zilla panchayat had already resolved that the airport be named after Koti-Chennaya. Meanwhile, Billava Mahamandala also have submitted a memorandum seeking the government name the airport after warriors of Tulunadu. Our fight will continue till the airport is renamed, and the Adani Group also should retain the replica of Tiger Dance inside the airport premises, which was replaced after the airport was handed over,” Rai said.
Former minister and senior Congress leader K Abhayachandra Jain, who earlier had demanded the government to rename the MIA after former MP U S Mallya, said he is of the opinion that the airport should be named after any achievers from the coastal districts. “I welcome the decision, if the government rename the airport after Koti-Chennaya,” he added.