Wednesday, March 16 2005 17:37 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hyderabad: Congress president Sonia Gandhi today (Mar 16, 2005) laid the foundation stone for the Rs 1,300 crore international airport at Shamshabad, about 25 km from Hyderabad.

"The new facility will boost tourism and bring in foreign exchange," she said after laying the foundation stone and recalled Rajiv Gandhi's association with the city.

"It was here in Hyderabad that Rajiv Gandhi had undergone training as a pilot before joining politics," she said and described him as a visionary who wanted to lead the country to the 21st century.

Gandhi also affirmed that some of the development that can be seen today in various sectors in the city has a stamp of Rajiv and his ideology.

Chief Minister Dr YS Rajasekhar Reddy, Union Ministers S Jaipal Reddy and Praful Patel were among those present at the simple function.

Earlier TDP (Telugu Desam Party) had created a pandemonium inside the Assembly and held a rally outside, over naming of the airport, leading to the arrest of TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu and other party members.