Hyderabad airport to be renamed after NT Rama Rao

Civil Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju has announced that the Rajiv Gandhi International Airport at Shamshabad will be renamed after the former chief minister. Vicky Nanjappa reports.

In a move that could cause problems and will raise eyebrows, Civil Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju has decided to rename the Rajiv GandhiInternationalAirport in Hyderabad after former Chief Minister NT Rama Rao.

The move comes after the demand was raised by Telugu Desam Party chief Chandrababu Naidu. Raju, being a fellow TDP member, has decided to rename the airport.

Back in 2008, when Sonia Gandhi inaugurated the airport at Shamshabad, the TDP had cried foul and asked why the name of the airport had been changed when it shifted from Begumpet. In fact, back then, the domestic terminal had NTR’s name.

And while Naidu may have had his way on the renaming issue, it is yet to be seen how the Telangana Rashtra Samithi will react to it, as the airport will technically be located in Telangana, once it comes into being on June 2.