Shiv Sena MP Priyanka Chaturvedi on Monday wrote to Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and sought his immediate intervention to grant NOC (no objection certificate) to preserve decommissioned aircraft carrier INS Viraat.
She also requested the central government to make the iconic carrier a memorial of India's nationalism, patriotism and pride.
"INS Viraat has been made powerless and is being broken down and dismembered to be sold as scrap rather than being preserved as a memorial of India's maritime history," Chaturvedi said in her letter to Singh.
"We as a nation must use our decommissioned naval ships to help citizens to better understand the significance of India's maritime history. It saddens me further to note that though there is an offer to convert the warship into a maritime museum, it awaits a no-objection certificate from the Defence Ministry for transfer of the warship," she added.
The Shiv Sena MP from Maharashtra concluded the letter stating, "Let INS Viraat be a living, breathing and thriving memorial of India's nationalism, patriotism and pride. Let us be preservers than destroyers of our rich history. Hence, it is my humble submission to kindly grant the NOC that would help preserve INS Viraat."
INS Viraat, the world's longest-serving warship that was decommissioned by the Indian Navy three years ago, arrived off the Alang coast in Gujarat for dismantling in September, this year. It will be dismantled at the ship breaking yard in Alang and then sold as scrap.
The warship, which was inducted into the Indian Navy in 1987, was purchased by Shree Ram Group for a sum of Rs 38.54 crore at an auction in July this year.
It was the second centaur-class aircraft carrier that was in service with the Indian Navy for 30 years before being decommissioned in March 2017. There were proposals in the past to preserve it as a maritime museum.
( With inputs from ANI )
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