Clarify stand on Aero India, Karnataka tells Centre

Amid reports about the Defence Ministry planning to shift the venue of Aero India, the country’s biennial air show and aviation exhibition, from Bengaluru to Lucknow, Karnataka on Saturday asked the Centre to clarify its stand on the matter.

A miffed Deputy Chief Minister G Parameshwara said under the NDA regime, the state was losing key defence projects to other states.

His remarks came after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Saturday urged defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman to shift the venue of Aero India as it would benefit the defence production in the state.

There are reports that the biennial event, which was last held in Bengaluru in February 2017, would now be held in October-November this year in Lucknow. However, the defence ministry has not yet made any formal announcement in this regard.

If this happens, it will be the first time that the event will be hosted outside Bengaluru since its inception in 1996. It will also be one of the big events in the politically crucial state before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.