Mangaluru: Dakshina Kannada District Congress Committee (DCC) president K Harish Kumar blamed the state government of not showing any interest in renaming Mangaluru International Airport (MIA) after Koti-Chennaya.
Kumar, who is also an MLC, told reporters on Friday, that the government had made it clear during the legislature session held in March, that there was no proposal before it to rename MIA. Similarly, circulars were also sent to deputy commissioners of Kalaburagi, Belagavi, Bidar, Dakshina Kannada and Hubballi, clarifying that the state government has no role in renaming airports, Kumar said, charging the BJP government of not showing interest in renaming the airport.
“All of us know that the renaming of an airport does not come under the purview of a state government. When local bodies adopt a resolution, state governments may send proposals to the central government after approving the same in its cabinet meeting. However, the state chief secretary has sent a letter to the deputy commissioner of Dakshina Kannada, stating that the state government has no role in it. Meanwhile, the Dakshina Kannada MP and BJP state president has claimed that he has submitted a proposal to the central government to rename the airport after Koti-Chennaya. Let him clarify the present status of the proposal he submitted,” Kumar said. He ridiculed and compared the process of renaming MIA to the Pumpwell flyover project, which took several years to complete.
Further, Kumar questioned as to why the central government, which took a hasty decision to demonetise currency, was not able to decide on renaming an airport.
Reacting to BJP’s allegations that the Congress was indulging in caste-based politics, Kumar said that the 135-year-old party need not depend on castes to ensure its vote bank. “We never sought votes in the name of caste. The BJP is indulging in caste-based politics by setting up caste-based development boards to woo voters,” he added.