Ambedkar opposes name for airport

The controversy has erupted over the naming of the upcoming Navi Mumbai International Airport in Maharashtra with the locals and political leaders opposing the proposal of giving the name of Shiv Sena supremo late Bal Thackeray to the project.

On Thursday, prominent Dalit leader Prakash Ambedkar, objected to naming the airport after Mr Thackeray and said that the locals’ demand for it to be named after former parliamentarian late D.B. Patil should be honoured.

Announcing his support, Mr Ambedkar, the grandson of Dr BR Ambedkar, said that locals’ demand to name the airport after Mr Patil is fair and appropriate. He said, “Patil’s contribution to Navi Mumbai’s development has been immense. He fought for the rights of sons of the soil who offered their land for the city’s growth. The local residents of Ulwe, Kopar and Panvel had given their ancestral land for the airport project and hence their feelings should be respected by the rulers.”

Patil has also played a major role in shaping the social life of Maharashtra as he contributed to the movement for the rights of OBC’s. He represented Raigad district in the Lok Sabha for four times and also held the post of opposition leader in the state assembly, said Mr Ambedkar.

The naming controversy has flared up after the City and Industrial Development Corporation (CIDCO), which is the nodal government agency for the project, recently passed a resolution to name the airport after Bal Thackeray. The locals, under the banner of Vimaltal Prakalpgrast Sanghatana (Organisation of Airport Project-affected People) has opposed the move insisting on the name of Mr Patil.