Pernem: People from different sections of society on Thursday held a peaceful protest at Pernem, demanding that the Mopa Greenfield Airport be named after Goa’s first Chief Minister and freedom fighter Dayanand Bandodkar.
While talks are rife that the State government has planned to name the new airport after former CM late Manohar Parrikar, the proposal has attracted controversy, with several associations threatening to protest if it is not named ‘Bhausaheb Bandodkar International Airport’.
On Thursday, former Union Minister Ramakant Khalap, former RSS Chief Subhash Velingkar, Naming Committee Convener Subhash Kerkar, Shiv Sena State Chief Jitesh Kamat, Bodgeshwar Shetkari Samiti President Sanjay Barde, Bahujan Samaj leader Umesh Talvanekar and others submitted a memorandum to the Dy Collector, Pernem, extolling the achievements of Bandodkar in laying the foundation of a developed Goa.
“The leadership of Bhausaheb Bandodkar is indisputable and beyond the leadership of any political party in the State, but the BJP is conspiring to create unnecessary competition between the virtues of Bhausaheb and Parrikar- an example of which can be seen in the differences between the elaborate memorial of Parrikar and the Samadhi Sthal of Bandokar, in Miramar,” alleged Velingkar.
“Bhausaheb worked to remove the de-nationalisation of the Portuguese rule and ran a non-corrupt government. The present government should set an example of non-corrupt leadership; today’s generation is unaware of the development works carried out by Bhahusaheb Bandodkar,” he added.
