Congress MLA Jassi Khangura has alleged that the Raja Sansi airport at Amritsar has been deliberately undermined to promote the Mohali airport by the Akali Dal-BJP government. In a statement, Jassi said that all those mourning the loss of flights from Rajasansi International Airport need to do some introspection.

“Why has Navjot Sidhu never taken an international flight from Amritsar? Why has the Akali-BJP government not mandated its officers and ministers to fly internationally from Amritsar? How much money has the Punjab Government spent on international flights from other cities that could have originated from Amritsar? Why was one of the last NRI samelan functions held in Chandigarh when it should have been held at Amritsar with the NRI legislators and other guests flying directly in to Amritsar? Why has this government not undertaken a single initiative to promote Amritsar airport? Why has the additional land desperately required for Rajasansi airport not been acquired by the Punjab government to date, whilst during the same time the government has displayed a relentless fervour to acquire countless thousands of acres for dubious projects that may never see the light of day?
The fact is that there has been a deliberate attempt to make Rajasansi airport unviable to promote Chandigarh International airport and the interests of numerous vested interests that have acquired land around the Chandigarh airport, possibly the biggest land scam in the history of Punjab. In reality the new roads being planned and / or built through Mohali are being routed to best serve the interests of new owners that have recently appeared on the scene.
There should be a CBI enquiry into land dealings around Chandigarh airport over the last 20 months. Why did the Punjab government only reward farmers who owned land bordering Chandigarh at the rate of Rs.1.5 crores per acre whilst selling other land bordering Chandigarh to LIC for some Rs.50 crores per acre? Today’s rulers in Punjab have decided that it is far better and easier to make humungous gains from real estate in Punjab based on manipulating governmental decisions, primarily the routing of roads and the location of PIDB projects, than by collecting small bribes as they did during the last Akali government when even Rs. 50,000 bribes were welcome. The only logical conclusion is that Rajasansi International airport has been deliberately undermined by this dishonest Akali-BJP government to promote Chandigarh Airport and the vested property interests in Mohali near the airport. ”
Jassi Khangura MLA