Govt okays Charan Singh airport

The Cabinet approves the naming of the Lucknow Airport as Chaudhary Charan Singh airport.

What’s in a name? Well a lot. In its bid to appease the Ajit Singh-led Rashtriya Lok Dal that has three precious MPs who could turn the tide in favour of the UPA government the Cabinet on Thursday approved the naming of the Lucknow Airport as Chaudhary Charan Singh airport.

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Ajit Singh is the son of Charan Singh, the seventh prime minister of India.

The re-christening of Amausi airport at Lucknow has come at a time when the government’s fate hangs in the balance as it is looking for much-needed support from 271 parliamentarians to win the trust vote over the contentious India-US nuclear deal.

The proposal to re-christen the Lucknow airport was made by successive state-governments and the Centre has decided to accede to the demand, Finance Minster P. Chidambaram said after a meeting of the Cabinet.

The Lucknow airport belongs to the Airports Authority of India. Besides domestic operations, the airport has a limited number of international flights.