LS polls: AIADMK says its door is 'closed' for the BJP
Chennai, Feb 7: Tamil Nadu's main opposition AIADMK on Wednesday said it had already shut its door on the BJP and ruled out joining forces with the Saffron party for the Lok Sabha polls.
Following Union Home Minister Amit Shah's remark that 'the BJP's doors are open for the AIADMK,' senior party leader D Jayakumar said BJP's top leader Shah has spelt out his party's stand.
"Amit Shah has said the doors of his party are open for the AIADMK. As regards the stand of our party, the BJP was once a friendly party. Now, it is a party that we oppose out-and-out," Jayakumar, AIADMK's organisation secretary said.
Without naming Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai, the AIADMK leader alleged that the Dravidian stalwart CN Annadurai and late AIADMK supremo J Jayalalithaa were belittled by him. Annamalai's criticism against such tall leaders continued despite his party strongly condemning it. "How can we accept it?, he asked, adding that the cadres and people were against joining hands with the BJP.
"When we severed our ties with the BJP, party workers burst firecrackers across the state; it showed the sentiments of our cadres; they do not want any alliance with the BJP."
Only reflecting such anti-BJP sentiments, last year, the party took a firm decision of having no alliance with the Saffron party 'at all the times to come.'
Jayakumar, a former Minister in the previous AIADMK regimes, said: "This party resolution, that there will never be an alliance with the BJP, was hailed by party workers and the people across the state. As far as we are concerned, we have closed our door on the BJP though they may keep their door open (for the AIADMK). We have closed our door to BJP. We do not want the BJP to come to us. This is our stand."
Asked if the AIADMK will reconsider its stand if the Saffron party took action against Annamalai for his remarks against Jayalalithaa, Jayakumar asserted 'there is no question of going back.' Ever since his party snapped ties with the Saffron party, former Chief Minister and AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami has been all along maintaining that there shall never be an alliance with the BJP.
In an interview to a Tamil daily, which was published on Wednesday, Amit Shah said the BJP's doors are open to the AIADMK for an alliance.
In September 2023, the AIADMK snapped its ties with the BJP, following Annamalai's alleged criticism of AIADMK icon Jayalalithaa vis-a-vis corruption allegations and Dravidian ideologue Annadurai for his 'anti-Hindu' comment made in the 1950s.
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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.
