Why NTR's Name For Hyderabad Airport, Asks KCR

Accusing the Central Government of trying to impose its decisions upon people of Telangana, Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao strongly objected to the renaming of the domestic terminal of the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad after former united Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister late N T Rama Rao.

Speaking on the issue in the State Legislative Assembly on Friday, KCR asked what prompted the Central Government to rename the airport after NTR.

"There have been two Prime Ministers from the South - P V Narasimha Rao and H D Deve Gowda. There are many Telangana icons who deserve to be remembered through big projects. Bhagya Reddy Varma hailed from Telangana and was popularly called 'Father of Dalit Movement'. There are many heroes of Telangana including Peddam Yellareddy, Kommaram Bheem, Ravi Narayan Reddy and Shaik Bandagi. When there are all these icons, why did the Central Government chose only NTR, who hailed from Andhra?" he demanded.

He also wanted to know if the Centre was proposing to name any projects in other parts of the country too after NTR.

The Chief Minister said that NTR was a great leader, but not an ideal choice for names for projects in Telangana. He said that he would have no objection if the whole of Andhra Pradesh was named after NTR, but that the TRS would certainly oppose the naming of any project after him in Telangana.

He also defended the present naming of the airport, after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He said that Rajiv Gandhi was a national leader, and had sacrificed his life for the country.

KCR said that the Centre should respect Telangana's sentiments and withdraw its move to rename the domestic terminal after NTR. He said that the BJP Government should learn lessons from the Communist Party of India, which changed the name of its mouthpiece from "Vishaalandhra" to "Mana Telangana".

Describing it as a sensitive issue, KCR alleged that the people of Telangana were not being allowed to breathe freely despite getting freedom from the Seemandhra rulers.

He said that the State Government would deal with the issue firmly. Upon his advice, the Speaker S Madhusudhana Chary adjourned the House to convene a Business Advisory Committee meeting.

As per the decision taken in the BAC meeting, the House later passed a resolution opposing the Centre's move to rename the RGIA's domestic terminal. (INN)