New Delhi: Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa has appealed to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh seeking approval to host ‘Aero India – 2021’ in Bengaluru.

On March 6, he met Singh with his deputy Govind Karjol and submitted a memorandum.

In the letter, he said, “Bengaluru has become synonymous with Asia’s premier show Aero India. This biennial air-cum-defence exhibition attracts giants of the industry as well as the general public. I once again seek your indulgence in the matter to convey approval of the Government of India for conducting the 13th edition of Aero India in Bengaluru and pre-assign appropriate dates in February 2021 for the event so as to initiate preliminary arrangements and more representative participation from the aero space industry throughout the globe.”

This is not the first time that the State government is stepping up pressure on the Central government to continue holding the prestigious show in the city. Even before conducting the previous edition of the show in February 2019, the then Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy had asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi not to shift the show from Bengaluru following a speculation that the venue would be shifted to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh.

Finally, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) decided to continue the show in Bengaluru, which has been the host for over two decades.

Yediyurappa also sought the intervention of Singh to transfer defence land required for an underground metro station at Langford Town. The letter states that a contract for construction of the station had been awarded in November 2019 and the contractor has mobilised resources to take up the work.

The memorandum says land has to be handed over to the contractor immediately, and any delay will impact implementation of the project and also have financial implications.

The Defence Ministry has already given working permission to BMRCL to carry out construction work at Vellara and MG Road for metro stations.