Chipi airport inauguration: Narayan Rane, Uddhav Thackeray to share platform after 16 years

Narayan Rane had recently been arrested for using bad language against the CM. Pic/ Ashish Rane

Union minister Narayan Rane has promised to expose Shiv Sena leaders for opposing development and extorting money from the contractors in the coastal Sindhudurg district, which will have the Konkan's first greenfield airport dedicated to the people today. The inaugural event is expected to be fiery because Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will also be present.

Before an aircraft could officially land at Chipi, Rane, who is fresh from the recent controversy in which he was arrested for using bad language against the CM, shot off verbal salvos at the Sena leaders. Rane and Thackeray will be coming together on one platform after 16 years. The Sena's one-time CM had quit it to join the Congress and now he is with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Meantime, he continued unabated the rivalry with the Sena chief, which turned ugly late August.

"The Sena leaders have opposed every development project or proposal that I thought of bringing to Sindhudurg. Currently, some Sena leaders extort money from the project contractors in the area. Some leaders have forced the contractors to buy cars for them," he said, promising to expose the ‘enemies of development' by pointing out at them at the Saturday's inaugural function, where Civil Aviation Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia will speak online from New Delhi, and deputy CM Ajit Pawar, Industry Minister Subhash Desai, local Sena MP Vinayak Raut and many others will be present.

Rane welcomed the CM's presence. "It will be a happy moment for us when the CM inaugurates such an important project. I welcome and host him," he said, while speaking to media persons on Friday at the state BJP office.

‘My credit'

The union minister claimed credit for the Chipi airport that was conceptualised to explore the tourism potential of Malvan, a scenic coastal area which is part of Sindhudurg district.

"I gave Sindhudurg the status of a tourism district. I pushed for the airport and several other tourism projects to attract foreign tourists when I was the CM. I demanded the airport, and Praful Patel (then civil aviation minister) gave it to me. I got permission for passenger traffic from Scindia sometime ago. Now some worthless people are shouting that they have made it possible," he said.

Rane resented the government's decision of not inviting opposition leader Devendra Fadnavis to the inaugural function. "There may not be any law about this, but there are some traditions that are followed when development projects are inaugurated. When I mentioned this to Fadnavis he said he wouldn't mind because the public was getting a good project. He is our kind hearted leader. But things would have been different if it was me," added Rane.