Defence Minister told me she is with Karnataka: DV Sadananda Gowda

The Centre has not finalised the venue of the next edition of Aero India, defence minister Nirmala Sitharaman told her Cabinet colleague DV Sadananda Gowda, who met her in Delhi on Tuesday amid reports that there was a plan to shift the venue of the high-profile event to Lucknow from Bengaluru.

“The defence minister told me that she is certainly with Karnataka , ” Gowda told ET.

Nirmala Sitharaman represents Karnataka in the Rajya Sabha. “I have requested the defence minister to argue our case, and do everything possible to ensure Bengaluru does not lose out on the event,” said Gowda, who represents Bengaluru North in the Lok Sabha. Bengaluru, he said, accounts for half of aerospace production, and that the city already has built full-fledged infrastructure to host the biennial event.


Sitharaman, he said, told him that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would take the final call. Meanwhile, she told him, a few states including Rajasthan, Goa and Uttar Pradesh had also offered to host the air show.

Gowda also requested the defence minister to issue an official notification announcing Bengaluru as the air show venue at the earliest. “If need be, I will also meet the Prime Minister along with other MPs from Bengaluru,” he said.