There is no move to shift "Aero India 2019" from Bengaluru to Lucknow, as clarified by Defence Ministry officials, said Union Minister for Parliamentary Affairs Ananth Kumar on Monday.
"I have spoken to (Defence Minister) Nirmala Sitharaman, who has confirmed the same -- no decision on shifting Aero India 2019 venue out of Bengaluru to Lucknow," said Kumar in a tweet.
Kumar is a six-time Lok Sabha member from Bengaluru South constituency, while Sitharaman is a Raya Sabha member from Karnataka.
"There were similar rumours last time too, which were proved to be unfounded," added Kumar, referring to media reports then that the 2017 air show would be shifted to Goa, from where former Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar hailed.
Kumar's tweet came within hours after Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, seeking his intervention to ensure that the February 2019 five-day biennial event is held in this tech hub only.
"I seek your indulgence for conducting the 12th edition of Aero India-2019 in Bengaluru, where the mega event was held successfully for 11 times biennially since 1996," said Kumaraswamy in the letter to Modi.
The letter was written following media reports that the Defence Ministry was planning to shift the upcoming air show to Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh, ahead of the general elections in mid-2019.
"As the hub of defence and aerospace majors in the country, Bengaluru is the most suitable place to conduct Asia's premier air show, as evident from the huge response the event got from the world over in the last 22 years," pointed out the letter.
The five-day air show has been held in February of alternate year at the Yelahanka air base of the Indian Air Force (IAF) in the city's northern suburb.
In the 11th edition, held on February 14-18, 2017, 549 global and Indian firms from 51 countries participated.
"Bengaluru has become synonymous with the air show for which the Defence Ministry and the state government had invested in upgrading infrastructure, including the air base, roads, highways and public amenities," said the letter.