‘HAL Karnataka’s pride, won’t go anywhere’: Shivakumar on Naidu’s ‘proposal’
Naidu, during a meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, offered 10,000 acres in Andhra’s Lepakshi-Madakasira region for two prime HAL units
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu’s pitch for turning his state into an aerospace and defence industries hub has not gone down well with Karnataka because the proposal apparently included shifting Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) from the latter state to the former.
“We will not allow what has been functioning here to be shifted,” Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar told the media on Tuesday (May 27). He added that Karnataka has provided land for HAL’s expansion in Tumkur and Bengaluru and if it wants to expand further, the Karnataka government is ready to support HAL.
While Naidu’s TDP is an ally of the BJP-led NDA, Karnataka currently has an opposition Congress government. “Bidar has a [HAL] base, Bengaluru has a base. We have two HAL airports in Bengaluru itself — one in Yelahanka and one in HAL,” Shivakumar said, asserting that HAL is “the pride of Karnataka”.
Also read: Naidu seeks Rajnath support to turn Andhra into aerospace, defence industries hub
Andhra can ask for unit but HAL not going anywhere: Karnataka ministers
Naidu, during a recent meeting with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, reportedly offered 10,000 acres in Andhra’s Lepakshi-Madakasira region for HAL’s Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) units.
Several Karnataka ministers have taken exception to reports that Naidu wants HAL to be relocated to Andhra, with Shivakumar pointing out that none other than Jawaharlal Nehru had laid the foundation of HAL in Karnataka and it was not going anywhere else.
Karnataka Industry Minister MB Patil and Transport Minister Ramalinga Reddy also dismissed the idea of HAL’s relocation. Both said that Naidu can suggest setting up a unit in Andhra but he should not ask for HAL to be shifted to Andhra altogether.