Wake up, Karnataka: Don't let Parrikar move Aero India to Goa

 

Since 2015, Manohar Parrikar has courted controversy over his plans to shift the venue of Asia's largest Aero India, out of Bengaluru to Goa. Though he might have been unsuccessful till now, there is no assurance that he will not succeed in the future.

 

Dubbed as Asia's largest and second largest in the world - the Aero India, is more than just an event for Bengaluru.

 

After hosting Defence Expo last year in Goa, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar has said that the Bengaluru-based Aero Show can also be shifted to the tourist state. 

 

He once again brought the issue up on Saturday.

 

"The next Aero Show will be hosted in Bangaluru this February. Goa had already successfully organised Defence Expo last year. If local population want, we can shift both the events here including Aero Show," Parrikar said on Saturday evening during the election campaign in Mormugao constituency.

 

Parrikar, who was in Goa to make a pitch for his party in the upcoming assembly polls, said he could move the Aero show to the tourist state. "The next Aero Show will be hosted in Bangaluru this February. Goa had already successfully organised Defence Expo last year. If local population want, we can shift both the events here including Aero Show," the defence minister said during the election campaign in Mormugao constituency.

 

In the past, while making a case for moving the prestigious event out of Bengaluru - which has successfully hosted ten editions of Aero India - the MoD reportedly wanted to move the event out of Bengaluru because of the increase in the number of high-rises and the shrinking infrastructure of the city.

 

And to make a case for Goa, Parrikar had harped on the fact that Goa was a popular tourist spot. However, what the defence minister is willingly overlooking is the fact that Bengaluru is home to a dozen aerospace and defence establishments.

 

Even as Goa government has allotted some "150 acres of land on the coastline in Quittol (Betul) which can accommodate 10,000 feet runway" on a permanent basis to host the Def Expo and Aero India, the repercussions of such an action certainly should be taken into account.

 

While it understandable that he wants to put the spotlight on his home state, a stern response from Karnataka government is bound to make matters unpleasant not just for the defence ministry but also for the ruling-BJP government.