Kerala govt willing to operate Thiruvananthapuram airport:

The planned privatisation of five airports in the country with the Adani Group as their operator was opposed in the Rajya Sabha Monday, with a CPI(M) MP saying the Kerala government is willing to operate the Thiruvananthapuram airport.

Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, K K Ragesh (CPI-M) said the Adani Group has emerged as the winner in privatisation bid of five airports at Lucknow, Jaipur, Thiruvananthapuram, Mangaluru and Ahmedabad.

The Kerala government, he said, had expressed willingness to take over the Thiruvananthapuram airport but the Centre advised it to take part in the auction bid process.

"It is regrettable that the state government is being considered on the same footing as the Adani Group," he said.

The airport was built on land given by the state government and as such has a say in the operations of it, he said.

He said Kerala chief minister at the recent NITI Aayog meeting told Prime Minister Narendra Modi that the state government was willing to takeover the Thiruvananthapuram airport operation and sought immediate intervention in the matter.

He, however, did not say what the response of Modi was to the proposal.

He asked why "national wealth was being privatised."