Union Urban Development Minister M. Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said people have welcomed the naming of the Bengaluru International Airport after Kempe Gowda and there was really no need to add fuel to fire by considering the option of renaming it after Mysore KIng Tipu Sultan.
“Kempe Gowda was the founder of Bengaluru, people respect him immensely. The name of Bangalore International Airport has been kept after him. People have welcomed that. Now, there is no point discussing after once the airport is named after a great person, who was instrumental in creating Bangalore city initially. You cannot be selective. Nobody should add fuel to the fire,” Naidu told media here.
“The Karnataka Government must also keep in mind the public sentiments. There is no point in hurting the public sentiment. The people who are criticising should also think before speaking,” he added.
Jnanpith Award winner Girish Karnad had said that Bengaluru’s Kempegowda International Airport should be renamed after 18th century Mysore king Tipu Sultan. A complaint was filed against him in this regard.
Karnad, who had participated in the Congress-led Karnataka Government’s ‘Tipu Jayanti’ celebrations, was threatened that he would ‘meet the same end as murdered writer M M Kalburgi.