Minister flags off Lko-Najaf flight

LUCKNOW : Union home minister Rajnath Singh on Thursday said the central government was committed to making air services affordable to everyone.

Flagging off the first flight for the holy city of Najaf in Iraq from Chaudhary Charan Singh airport here, Singh said: “Today, India has 100 airports. The central government has succeeded in providing air services in most parts of India.”

He said the government had sanctioned Rs 13,000 crore to make air travel affordable to the common man.

Chairman, National Minorities Commission, Gairul Hasan Rizvi and Shia clerics Maulana Kalbe Jawwad and Maulana Agha Roohi were also present on the occasion.

Sayyed Asghar Rizvi, who was issued the first boarding pass for the flight, said: “My dream to visit Najaf has come true. I don’t have words to thank the home minister for his efforts. Najaf is as important as Mecca and Medina for us.”

“For years, I wanted this flight to start. I had also written to former civil aviation minister Ajit Singh but he did not fulfil the demand,” Maulana Kalbe Jawwad said. Maulana Agha Roohi said Congress leader Dr Ammar Rizvi had written to the civil aviation ministry in 2004 demanding a flight for Najaf from Lucknow as the city had sizeable Shia population. “After so many years, Rajnath Singh has fulfilled our wish. May god make him the country’s PM,” he added.

Speaking on the occasion, Rajnath said, “Please don’t see this flight in context of elections. It would be a shame for me if you link it with elections. I don’t do politics of this level and don’t want to win elections with such narrow thinking. I have done this for the sake of humanity.”

“Ammar Rizvi met me with the proposal a few months ago and I immediately forwarded it to the civil aviation ministry which agreed to it,” he said, adding that he wanted close ties with Iraq which had played a major role in Islamic education around the world. “Education unites people. I hope this flight will also unite people in Lucknow,” he added. Singh said he had been working to decongest Lucknow from traffic jams. “Work on outer ring road and three flyovers is in progress. Two multilevel parkings are being dedicated to the people of Lucknow. Soon, Lucknow metro will also start running on the full 23-km route,” he said.