DMK opposes privatisation of airports

Chennai, Aug 21: The opposition DMK in Tamil Nadu on Friday opposed the Centre's decision to "privatise" airports, saying the move "usurps the rights and autonomy from the State."

In an apparent reference to the Centre deciding to lease out three airports, including the one at Thiruvananthapuram, DMK President M K Stalin described the decision as "unilateral" and demanded its revocation.

"The Center's unilateral decision to privatise airports usurps the rights and autonomy from the State," he said in a tweet.

"It violates the pledge made in 2003 that any proposal concerning airport privatisation would be made only in consultation with the state government and must be revoked," Stalin added.

The BJP-led NDA government had earlier decided to lease out airports at Jaipur, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram through public-private partnership (PPP) mode to Adani Enterprises, a move criticised by the opposition.

Incidentally, the ruling CPI-M in Kerala had convened an all-party meeting on Thursday and demanded for the withdrawal of the Union Cabinet decision to lease out the airport at Thiruvananthapuram.

Adani Enterprises has won the rights to run six airports-- Lucknow, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Mangaluru, Guwahati and Thiruvananthapuram--through the PPP model after a competitive bidding process in February, 2019.