The Ministry of Defence has put an end to questions over the venue of Aero India 2019. The Ministry of Defence in a press release said that the Aero Show 2019 will be held in Bengaluru between February 20 and 24. This event is said to combine a trade exhibition for the aerospace and defence industries alongside public air shows.

Remember, the upcoming Aero India had recently sparked a row after U.P CM Yogi Adityanath had appealed to Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to host the show in Lucknow. His request had irked several leaders in Karnataka.

PTI quoted sources from Defence Ministry saying that they had received requests from other states including Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan and Odisha to host the next Aero India Show. Experts feel that moving the venue would prove to be detrimental as Bengaluru is a home to Indian Aviation and Space with both HAL and ISRO being headquartered in the city.

There was a speculation that the Aero show 2019 would give a boost to the Defence Corridor which is coming up in Lucknow. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister had asked the Defence Minister and urged her to hold the event in his state. This irked the Karnataka State congress and they hit out at they hit out at the Defence Minister telling her that being a Rajya Sabha member from Karnataka, she had to protect the interest of the state and retain the show in Bengaluru. Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy also wrote to PM Narendra Modi about the show and urged him to retain the show in the city. BJP Karnataka on the other hand remained tight-lipped over the issue and were accused of remaining mute spectators to the injustice meted out to the people of Karnataka.

The Ministry of Defence has now put an end to all speculations regarding the venue of the show and has announced officially that Aero India 2019 will be held in the city of Bengaluru.

ARTICLE WRITTEN BY APOORVA SHANKAR