Kin want Chandigarh airport named after Bhagat Singh

Abhay Singh Sandhu said that the Centre should issue a notification and name the airport after Bhagat Singh without further delay.

As the country marks the 108th birth anniversary of Shaheed Bhagat Singh, a close relative of the martyr on Monday urged the Centre to name the new civil air terminal in Chandigarh after the freedom fighter “without further delay”.

Singh’s nephew, Abhay Singh Sandhu claimed, “The decision to name the airport after Bhagat Singh was taken by the Punjab government in 2007 during his birth centenary celebrations. Later, the Punjab Assembly also unanimously passed a resolution in this regard.”

The Punjab government had been demanding that the airport be named as ‘Shaheed-e-Azam Sardar Shaheed Bhagat Singh International airport, Mohali’

However, the Haryana government had objected to ‘Mohali’ word and insisted on keeping its name after Chandigarh, though the state government had maintained it had no objection over the use of Singh’s name.

“I want to clarify that there was no demand from the family that the airport be named after Sardar Bhagat Singh,” Mr. Sandhu claimed.

“The proposal came from the government’s side. However, people now feel it as an insult to the great martyr who made supreme sacrifice for the sake of this country,” he said.