Amarinder Singh says ‘grateful to PM’ for Chandigarh Airport move: ‘Befitting…’

Former chief minister of Punjab and new member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Captain Amarinder Singh on Sunday thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the decision to rename Chandigarh Airport after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh. Taking to Twitter, he said that he is “grateful” to the prime minister for accepting the demand of renaming the airport.

“This is a befitting tribute to the great freedom fighter who gave his life for the country and is an inspiration to millions of fellow countrymen,” Captain’s post on the micro-blogging site read.

During the 93rd episode of ‘Mann Ki Baat’ earlier in the day, Modi announced the decision to rename the airport. He said that the move will mark a “tribute” to Singh ahead of his 115th birth anniversary on September 28.

“It had been in the waiting for a long time. I congratulate the people of Chandigarh, Punjab, and Haryana and of the entire country for this decision,” Modi said during ‘Mann Ki Baat’.

Punjab chief minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Bhagwant Mann also thanked Modi for the decision to rename Chandigarh Airport. Speaking with reporters earlier today, he said that he is “happy our efforts yielded results”.

“And PM Modi has declared in the episode of Mann Ki Baat that the airport would be renamed after him. For this, I thank the prime minister,” the CM added.

Mann, who was speaking with AAP supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal standing next to him, further stated that a letter was sent to the aviation ministry to “honour Shaheed-e-Azam Bhagat Singh on his birth anniversary on September 28”. “Before that, we wanted the Chandigarh Airport to be renamed to pay tribute to him as a gift,” the CM said.

Punjab and Haryana, which share Chandigarh as their capital, had reached a consensus last month on this issue.