Chandigarh's First International Flight Fuels Fight Between Haryana, Punjab

Chandigarh: On Thursday, the first international flight took off from the gleaming, renovated airport in Chandigarh, with Punjab's Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal on board.

In Haryana, it was Chief Minister ML Khattar's temper that soared.

As Mr Badal took a flight to Sharjah after a grand opening, the Haryana chief minister shot off a letter to his Punjab counterpart Parkash Singh Badal.

"I am deeply anguished by the advertisements that appeared in various newspapers terming the Chandigarh airport as Mohali International Airport. That is factually incorrect. The fact is that the final nomenclature of this airport has not been decided by the government of India," Mr Khattar said in the strongly-worded letter.

The name was flashed in giant hoardings that boasted that Punjab is the only state with two international airports; the other one is at Amritsar. The hoardings were put up all the way to the airport.

Haryana has contributed an equal share of Rs 200 crore to transform the Chandigarh airport into an international one, Mr Khattar reminded in his letter.

Punjab and Haryana have been locked in a bitter row over a name for the new international airport.

The BJP rules both states, but in Punjab, it is junior partner to Mr Badal's Akali Dal.

Punjab wants it to be named after revolutionary freedom fighter Shaheed Bhagat Singh, but Haryana has proposed naming it after Mangal Sein, a party leader and a former deputy chief minister of the state.

At the launch on Thursday, union Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju also said that the centre has not finalised a name yet.

The Airports Authority of India has 51 per cent equity partnership in the airport and the two state governments have 24.5 percent each.

Here is the letter that Mr Khattar wrote to Mr Badal: