Deterioration in ideology among politicians not good for democracy: Nitin Gadkari
New Delhi, Feb 6: Union minister Nitin Gadkari on Tuesday raised concern about opportunistic politicians wanting to remain associated with the ruling party of the day and said such "deterioration in ideology" was not good for democracy.
He also said there are leaders who stand firm in their ideology but their number is gradually declining.
"I always say this jokingly that no matter which party's government it is, one thing is sure that the one who does good work never gets respect and those who do bad work are never punished," Gadkari said, without taking names.
The minister was addressing an event organised by the Lokmat media group here to present awards to parliamentarians for their exemplary contributions.
"In our debates and discussion, differences of opinion is not our problem. Our problem is lack of ideas," the senior BJP leader said.
"There are people who stand firm with conviction based on their ideology but the number of such people is declining. And deterioration in ideology, which is happening, is not good for democracy," he said.
"Neither rightist nor leftist, we are known opportunists, some people write like this. And all want to remain associated with the ruling party," he added.
Gadkari said India is the world's largest democracy and in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's words, India is the mother of democracy.
"It is because of this speciality, our democratic governance system is an ideal for the rest of the world," he added.
Gadkari said politicians come and go but it is the work they have done for the people of their respective constituencies that eventually matters and bring them respect.
"Publicity and popularity is necessary but how they work for the people in their respective constituencies is more important than what they speak in Parliament," he said.
Gadkari praised RJD supremo Lalu Prasad Yadav's oratory and said he has also learnt a lot from former defence minister George Fernandes' "behaviour, simplicity and personality."
"After Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the person I was impressed with a lot was George Fernandes," he said.
Gadkari also praised former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, who was recently conferred the Bharat Ratna posthumously, and said such people have made the country's democracy strong.
"After stepping down as chief minister, he (Thakur) travelled in an auto-rickshaw and his condition was very ordinary," he said and suggested that political leaders should take inspiration from such people.
"Today I feel that our democracy is going to be very strong after so long.... We all have the responsibility to raise the dignity and respect of Parliament," he added.
Addressing the event, Union minister Ramdas Athawale said that in politics leaders keep switching parties. "It is not known which MP will move to which party and when," he said.
"I am going to remain in power. I know which party is going to form its government," Athawale, whose RPI (Athawale) is an NDA ally, said in lighter vein.
Lok Sabha member Shashi Tharoor of the Congress and Rajya Sabha member Sasmit Patra of the BJD were conferred the best parliamentarian of the year awards at the event.
Lok Sabha MP Danish Ali, who has been suspended by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), and Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas of the CPI(M) received the best debutant parliamentarian awards.
BJP MP Maneka Gandhi and Samajwadi Party MP Ram Gopal Yadav were conferred the lifetime achievement awards at the function. Akali Dal MP Harshimrat Kaur and BJP MP Saroj Pandey received the best woman parliamentarian of the year awards.
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Noida International Airport appoints Nitu Samra as interim CEO
New Delhi (PTI): Noida International Airport on Friday announced the appointment of its Chief Financial Officer Nitu Samra as the interim Chief Executive Officer after authorities denied permission for foreign national Christoph Schnellmann to be at the helm.
"This change follows directions issued by the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) that the Chief Executive Officer of an airport in India is required to be an Indian national," NIA said in a statement.
Samra will replace Schnellmann, a Swiss national who has led Noida International Airport (NIA) as the CEO since August 2020.
The regulatory issue related to the requirement of having an Indian national as CEO has been delaying the start of commercial operations of the airport, which was inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on March 28.
Schnellmann will join the airport's Board of Directors as Executive Vice Chairman. In this role, he will continue to support the project and its transition to operations, the statement said.
With immediate effect, NIA said Samra has been appointed as the CEO on an interim basis until the Board of Directors can conclude a formal selection process.
Samra has been serving as the CFO since October 2021 and was closely involved in the airport’s development journey, overseeing financial stewardship, governance, and strategic planning during a key phase of the project, the statement added.
NIA will be operated by Yamuna International Airport Pvt Ltd (YIAPL), a subsidiary of Zurich Airport International AG, under a public-private partnership.
Originally scheduled to commence passenger services in September 2024, NIA is being developed in four phases, along with a dedicated cargo terminal. It received an aerodrome license from the aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) in March.
YIAPL Chairman Daniel Bircher said that since the inauguration of the airport by the Prime Minister, the goal was to enable the start of operations as early as possible.
"This management change brings the airport into compliance with Bureau of Civil Aviation Security requirements while maintaining continuity in the airport’s leadership team. The newly structured team will support a smooth transition into operations, guided by clear and transparent governance and a strong corporate culture," he said.
On March 28, Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu said commercial flight operations from the airport would start in the next 45 to 60 days.
Among the largest greenfield airport projects in the country, NIA will initially have a capacity to handle 12 million passengers per annum.
Once fully developed, the airport will have a total passenger handling capacity of 70 million.
The first phase of NIA has been developed at an investment of around Rs 11,200 crore. 'DXN' is the code for the airport.
The airport features a 3,900-metre runway capable of handling wide-body aircraft, along with modern navigation systems, including Instrument Landing System (ILS) and advanced airfield lighting.
The peak handling capacity in the first phase will be 30 flights per hour.
In the first phase, there will be 28 aircraft stands, and the projected cargo capacity is around 2.5 lakh tonnes.
Terminal 1 of the airport is spread across 1,37,985 square metres with 48 check-in counters. Over 40 acres of land have been earmarked for developing MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) facilities at the airport.
