The UPA government today symbolically tipped its hat to alliance partner DMK, proposing to rename the Madurai airport as Pasumpon Muthuramalingam Thevar International Airport. The government also proposed to rechristen a slew of other airports - Rajhamsi International airport at Amritsar will soon be Guru Ramdassjee International Airport, Chandigarh's international civil air terminal complex will
be called Shahid-e-Azam Sardar Bhagat Singh International.

Madurai is union chemicals and fertilisers minister M K Alagiri's stronghold, and it is believed that the government included the airport in order to please thr Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK).

Guru Ramdassjee is the fourth Sikh Guru who founded the city of Amritsar while Thevar is hailed as one of the first votaries calling for Independence back in 1930s.

The Defence and Home Ministries have consented renaming of the three airports, while the Cabinet is going ahead with the proposal even before comments are received from other concerned ministries like those of Finance, Environment and Forests, and Tourism and the Planning Commission.

As many as 27 airports have been renamed in the past like Ahmedabad airport named after Vallabhbhai Patel, Patna airport after Jayaprakash Narayan, Hyderabad as NT Ramarao Airport Bhubaneshwar as Biju Patnaik Airport, Ranchi as Birsa Munda airport, Udaipur as Maharana Pratap Airport and Indore as Ahilyabai Holkar airport.