Sukhoi Fighter Jet Takes Off From Navi Mumbai Airport This Week: CM Shinde

Nagpur, Oct 9 (PTI) Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Wednesday announced that a Sukhoi fighter jet will take off from the Navi Mumbai international airport this week.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a "bigger fighter than the Sukhoi fighter jet" as he takes on the entire opposition alone, Shinde quipped at a program here where the PM virtually laid the foundation stone of various development projects in the poll-bound state.
The greenfield Navi Mumbai international airport near Mumbai is currently under construction. It is expected to be operational by March next year, officials had said earlier.
"I want to give good news that in the next two-three days Sukhoi fighter jets will take off from the Navi Mumbai international airport," said the chief minister who too addressed the function through video link.
"We all believe that Modi ji is a bigger fighter than the Sukhoi fighter jet and he fights with all the opposition and wins on his own. Hence, his fighter jet has landed in the hearts of 140 crore people. Modi ji is taking the country to greater heights at the speed of a jet," Shinde, a BJP ally, added.
Congratulating Modi for the BJP's victory in the Haryana assembly elections, he assured that the success will be replicated in the coming elections in Maharashtra.
On the PM inaugurating ten new medical colleges in the state, Shinde noted that Maharashtra has the highest number of medical colleges in the country. Inauguration of ten medical colleges was a record, he added.
Before 2014, there were 387 medical colleges in the country and the number rose to 706 in the last ten years, he said.
Similarly, the number of airports in the country has rose to more than 150 from 74 in 2014, the chief minister said.
Speaking on the occasion, deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said the inauguration of ten medical colleges in a single day was a proud moment for the state.
The upgradation of the Nagpur airport will create a large number of jobs and investment opportunities in central India and also give a boost to the Nagpur cargo hub, the BJP leader said while thanking the prime minister for the development projects.

Union Road Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari expressed happiness over the 'bhoomi-pujan' (ground-breaking ceremony) of the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Nagpur International Airport's new terminal. It will boost economic activity and benefit Telangana, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh along with Maharashtra's Vidarbha region, the senior BJP leader noted.
Gadkari also praised Fadnavis for his efforts for the development of the Nagpur airport.