Former civil aviation minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain recalled the rechristening of the Port Blair Airport as Veer Sawarkar International Airport in 2002. Hussain said it was only after the suggestion of Kailashji that the airport was renamed when he had taken charge as the civil aviation minister.). "When I conveyed Kailashji's message to the then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the latter happily agreed to rename the airport," Hussain said. BJP's ex-president Rajnath Singh also recalled how Kailashji had refused nomination to the Rajya Sabha for a second term and opted to work for the organization at a time when party leaders were virtually gatecrashing for a ticket to the Upper House.