Chennai:Political parties in Tamil Nadu have reacted to Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay reportedly writing to the Prime Minister of India seeking the removal of the Airport Authority of India (AAI) from the management of the Chennai airport and appointing an alternative agency.

Claiming that such a move would lead to privatizing the airport, the CPI State secretary M Veerapandian said the State executive of the CPI said Chennai airport was not a commercial enterprise or a private property.

It was an important public infrastructure of the country and plays a vital role in industry, trade, tourism and freight traffic in Tamil Nadu, he said, adding that the privatization of the airport was not a solution to the problems related to passenger services, flight operations, cargo handling and road connectivity that had to be improved.

CPM State Secretary P Shanmugam urged the Chief Minister to withdraw his letter written to the Prime Minister in support of the Union government's privatization activities by seeking to change the administration of the Chennai airport by the AAI.

He was speaking to the media at a protest organised against the State Government proposal to build a new building to house the State Secretariat and Assembly at Pattinapakkam when he said that news had come out of Vijay’s request at a time when the Union Government was handing over the airports, port and railway station to corporate capitalists.

If such a letter requesting the Union Government to change the management of the Chennai airport, it should be withdrawn, he said.

Tamil Nadu Vazhvurimai Katchi head, T Velmurugan, in a statement, said that the Tamil Nadu government should openl examine the problems in the administration by the AAI and resolve them with the Union Government.

He urged the State government to give up the idea of privatizing airport administration and make efforts to improve the infrastructure there under the direct supervision of the government.

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