The Rajya Sabha on Thursday saw din for some minutes over the issue of naming the Chandigarh airport with the Opposition demanding that it should be known as Shahid-e-Azam Bhagat Singh airport and claimed that the BJP Government in Haryana does not want to name it after the legendary freedom-fighter.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi rejected the allegation and said the Opposition should not make sweeping statements.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour, Ritabrata Banerjee (CPI-M) said there was a controversy over the naming of the Chandigarh airport. He claimed that the Punjab Government had agreed that the airport will be named after Bhagat Singh, but the Haryana Government wanted to name it after Mangal Sein.
He also said there were agitations on Wednesday to demand naming of the airport after Bhagat Singh. Incidentally, March 23 is the martyrdom day of Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev.
Joining the issue, Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa said on the one hand here is the demand to name the airport after the great freedom fighter, but on the other hand, the BJP wanted to name it after the party’s ex-Chief Minister. Bajwa also said the House should observe silence as a mark of respect for some minutes every year on Bhagat Singh’s martyrdom day.
As several Opposition members were up on their feet and created an uproar, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi countered the allegations saying “we have never said it and nobody has said it. It is not proper to make such sweeping statements.” The Minister said Bhagat Singh was a martyr and was respected by everyone.