Bengaluru or Lucknow? No confirmation yet on final venue for Aero India 2019, says Nirmala Sitharaman

Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on Tuesday, said that there is no move to shift Aero India 2019 from Bengaluru to Lucknow, amid reports that the mega aerospace event is being moved out of its traditional venue of Bengaluru. There have been reports that the biennial event — considered the largest aerospace exhibition in Asia — may be organised at the Bakshi Ka Talab air force base in Lucknow in October. [caption id=“attachment_2108641” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of an Aero India show in Bengaluru’s Yelhanka Air Base in 2015. PTI[/caption] PTI had quoted sources at the defence ministry as saying that they have received requests from a number of states including Gujarat, Rajasthan, Odisha, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh to host the next Aero India show. Aero India has traditionally been organised at Indian Air Force’s Yelahanka air base on the outskirts of Bengaluru. The reports gathered more weight after Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath made a request to Sitharaman to select Lucknow as the venue for the Aero India, on Saturday to announce investment raised by a defence corridor being built in the state.  The corridor will pass through Aligarh, Agra, Kanpur, Lucknow, Jhansi, and Chitrakoot. It has already raised investments worth Rs 3,732 crore. Sitharaman, who was also present at the event, had not officially responded to the request,  The Economic Times reported. However, the reports elicited strong reactions from Karnataka, with Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy even sending a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, insisting that Bengaluru would be the “best choice” for the event. “Bengaluru being the hub for defence and aviation majors of the country, is certainly the most suitable place to conduct the show,” he said in the letter. “I seek your indulgence for conducting the 12th edition of Aero India-2019 in Bengaluru, where the mega event was held successfully for 11 times biennially since 1996,” said Kumaraswamy in the letter to Modi. Since its inception in 1996, Bengaluru has been hosting the air show. Union minister and BJP MP from Bengaluru Ananth Kumar also clarified on the issue after Kumaraswamy’s letter, stating that he has confirmed with the defence minister that these reports were mere rumours. “I have spoken to (defence minister) Nirmala Sitharaman, who has confirmed the same — no decision on shifting Aero India 2019 venue out of Bengaluru to Lucknow,” said Kumar in a tweet. Kumar is a six-time Lok Sabha member from Bengaluru South constituency, while Sitharaman is a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka. “There were similar rumours last time too, which were proved to be unfounded,” added Kumar, referring to media reports then that the 2017 air show would be shifted to Goa, from where former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar hailed. With inputs from agencies