Trivandrum International Airport Privatisation: Opposition Congress Supports Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, Slams Modi Govt's Move

Thiruvanthapuram, August 20: A day after Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and asked him to reconsider Union Cabinet's decision on privatising Trivandrum International Airport, both ruling and opposition party leaders have supported CM Vijayan.

Expressing on recent Union Cabinet's decision, state PCC chief and Lok Sabha MP Mullappally Ramachandran said, "Profit earning Trivandrum airport is sold out to Adani - Total sell out of the country to capitalists- another despicable act by Modi govt." Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan Writes to PM Narendra Modi, Opposes Union Cabinet's Approval to Hand Over Trivandrum International Airport to Private Bidder.

Here's the tweet by Ramachandran:

Even former Union Minister Jairam Ramesh too criticised the move by Union Cabinet. He said, "First, the airports in Ahmedabad, Lucknow and Mangalore were sold off. Now, it is the turn of Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram. All six sold to one private company. At this rate, AAI (Airports Authority of India) could well mean ‘Adani Airports of India’!"

Here's what Ramesh said:

Expressing a similar opinion on recent Union Cabinet's decision, Kerala Fiance Minister Thomas Isaac took to Twitter and wrote, "Thiruvananthapuram airport privatised to Adani rejecting the claim of Kerala govt, even after offer to match Adani’s rate. PMO’s promise to accept Kerala proposal broken. People of Kerala will not accept this act of brazen cronyism."

Here's what Thomas Isaac said:

Earlier on Wednesday, CM Vijayan opposed Union Cabinet's approval to hand over Trivandrum International Airport to a private bidder. He had clearly stated that it would be difficult for the state government to offer co-operation to implement the decision.

The Union Cabinet had approved the Airports Authority of India (AAI) to lease out the three airports of Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram. The Adani Enterprises Ltd had in 2019 won the bid to operate six airports -- Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Trivandrum, and Guwahati. It is be known that the Kerala government has been opposing the Adani group's involvement from the beginning.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 20, 2020 02:32 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).