NCP’s Praful Patel demands renaming Vadodara airport after erstwhile ruler

Express photo by Prem Nath Pandey

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Praful Patel on Monday questioned the Narendra Modi government as to why the Vadodara airport was not being named after Vadodara’s erstwhile ruler late Sayajirao Gaekwad.

Patel said that the erstwhile ruler had established the the world-famous Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda as well as the Bank of Baroda in 1908, reports news agency PTI. He added that the ruler had also given a educational scholarship to Dalit icon Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar.

The NCP leader said that as civil aviation minister in the previous UPA government, he had introduced a bill to rename the airport after Sayajirao Gaekwad. He claimed that the demand was close to the heart of the people of Vadodara.

Patel added that NCP chief Sharad Pawar would be visitng Gujarat on December 6 to campaign for party candidates.