Chandigarh International Airport has hit a political turmoil over its name, compelling Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to urge the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for stepping in so that it is named after Bhagat Singh.
Badal on Wednesday appealed to the Prime Minister “to intervene personally” to put a quick end to any controversy on the issue as this was creating a very unsavory situation for all those who take pride in our national martyrs.
At the same time, Badal made it clear that there was a general national consensus on naming the International Airport at Mohali after the martyr-supreme, Shaheed-e-Aazam Sardar Bhagat Singh and a formal and final decision to this effect should be taken without any further loss of time.
“A proposal to this effect is already with the Government of India and we all assumed and still remain convinced that considering the massive national following Sardar Bhagat Singh enjoys, no one would even consider opposing the proposal. Any controversy on the matter needs to be snuffed out as quickly as possible,” said Badal.
Badal said that all martyrs are worthy our adoration but everyone in the country acknowledges Bhagat Singh as ‘Shaheed-e-Azam – the greatest martyr among martyrs.
“In fact, he is national and international icon, at par with heroes and martyrs like Martin luther King (junior), Nelson Mandela and Mahatama Gandhi,” he said.
Describing Bhagat Singh as the “pride of India”, Badal said: “Sardar Bhagat Singh does not belong to Punjab alone but is a national treasure. We all know that national heroes like Sardar Bhagat Singh, Subhash Chander Bose, Sardar Kartar Singh Sarbha, Madan lal Dhingra, Shaheed Udham Singh, Sukhdev and Rajguru are the common heritage of the nation. Their names should never be made a subject of controversy by anyone.”
“It is distasteful and even an affront to all our great national icons even to drag the issue of naming the International Airport at Mohali after Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh into a controversy. Even to raise a question on any proposal to name a national project after him would be unsavory and a disservice to all those who, like Shaheed-e-Azam, put the interests of the nation above anything personal,” said Badal.
The Chief Minister ridiculed Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh for trying to politicise even the legacy of our national martyrs. “Captain Sahib should know that on this issue at least, only silence suits him, because Sardar Bhagat Singh laid down his life fighting the very legacy which Captain Singh represents,” he said.
Badal pointed that he was martyred by the British imperialists whom the Patiala royalty supported. “I personally do not like raking up pro-British and anti-martyrs legacy which Capt Amarinder Singh had inherited from his predecessors in Patiala shahi gharana. But the least he can do to help us in helping him in the matter is for him to stay out of any issue concerning our national martyrs,” he said.
It does not lie in his mouth to speak on issues on which his personal and social credentials run so much against the legacy of the martyrs, said Badal.