Chandigarh (PTI): The international airport here has been renamed Shaheed Bhagat Singh International Airport, Chandigarh, after freedom fighter Bhagat Singh on his birth anniversary on Wednesday, days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an announcement in this regard.
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, the chief guest at the event, said she felt honoured to be present at the event and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for deciding to rename the airport after the iconic freedom fighter.
"Through these small gestures, we are remembering the immense sacrifice the young men and women like Shaheed Bhagat Singh made during the freedom struggle," she said.
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Union minister VK Singh, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Haryana Deputy Chief Minister Dushyant Chautala, Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij and Chandigarh MP Kirron Kher were present at the event.
Mann also thanked Modi for renaming the airport and sought more international flights.
PM Modi, in his Mann Ki Baat radio broadcast on Sunday, announced that the airport would be renamed after Shaheed Bhagat Singh as a tribute.
The 115th birth anniversary of Bhagat Singh is being celebrated on Wednesday
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Bengaluru, Jan 14: The BJP on Tuesday accused the police of "framing" an innocent person in the cow attack case in Chamarajapet here and demanded a fair investigation into the incident.
Sheikh Nasru (30), a native of Champaran in Bihar, has been arrested for allegedly slashing the udders of three cows on Sunday.
The matter escalated into a communal controversy after the saffron party threatened to observe 'Black Sankranti' if the culprits were not arrested before the festival.
The party has since emphasised that the actual perpetrators must be apprehended.
Addressing media here, BJP state president B Y Vijayendra said, "There are claims that an innocent man has been falsely implicated and is being projected as the culprit."
Leader of Opposition R Ashoka also raised doubts about the investigation, questioning how a mentally unstable man could work at the firm for a decade.
Ashoka noted that the incident occurred at the veterinary hospital, which spans four acres.
He alleged that the hospital was recently declared Waqf property and claimed that Karna, the owner of the injured cattle, had opposed the Waqf Board’s decision, suggesting this opposition might have led to the incident.
The party leaders led by Vijayendra and Ashoka celebrated 'Sankranti' by offering special prayers to cows at the spot where the attack took place.
Meanwhile, state Home Minister G Parameshwara dismissed the opposition charges and said the police were investigating the case without any bias.
"If the investigation reveals the involvement of more people, then police will not spare them," he told reporters here.