Tamil Nadu govt ‘crossing the limits’ : PM Modi
The full-page ad appeared in leading dailies ahead of PM Modi’s foundation stone-laying event of Kulasekarapattinam spaceport in Thoothukudi district
The advertisement on Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) upcoming spaceport at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district sported a rocket with a Chinese flag.
The DMK-led Tamil Nadu government has landed in a soup after an advertisement on Indian Space Research Organisation’s (ISRO) upcoming spaceport at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district sported a rocket with a Chinese flag.
The BJP has slammed the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) for the full-page ad that appeared in all leading dailies on Wednesday ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foundation stone-laying event of Kulasekarapattinam spaceport.
Taking to X, BJP state president K Annamalai on Wednesday shared the poster and said the poster is a manifestation of DMK’s commitment to China and displayed their total disregard to the country’s sovereignty.
Earlier, while addressing the gathering in Tirunelveli, PM Modi also criticised the DMK over the controversial advertisement saying the state government was turning a blind eye towards the nation’s progress.
“DMK is a party that does not work but steers ahead to take false credit. Who doesn’t know that these people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now they have crossed the limits, they have pasted China’s sticker to take credit for ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu,” Modi said who was on a two-day visit to Tamil Nadu to lay foundation stones and launch multiple development projects in the state.
Annamalai said the DMK, which is steeped in corruption, has been desperate to paste stickers ever since the announcement of a spaceport in Kulasekarapattinam.
“The amount of desperation only proves their attempt to bury their past misdeeds, but we must remind them that DMK was why the Satish Dhawan Space Centre is today in Andhra Pradesh and not Tamil Nadu,” Annamalai wrote on X.
He claimed that when the first launch pad of Isro was conceptualised, Tamil Nadu was the first choice of the space agency and blamed former Chief Minister C N Annadurai’s callous attitude for letting the space project go from the state.
“This was the treatment our country’s space programme received 60 years ago. DMK hasn’t changed much and has only become worse,” Annamalai said.
Meanwhile, Thoothukudi MP Kanimozhi who participated in the event alongside Minister for Public Works E V Velu said it was disappointing that PM Modi did not have heart even to acknowledge their names.
Commenting on the controversy, Kanimozhi said no one has yet declared China as India’s enemy.
“Someone who had done the artwork had put that (advertisement)… The Chinese Prime Minister is coming here and our Prime Minister is receiving him directly and they both go on a walk in Mahabalipuram. In such a scenario, no one has said till now that they have announced them (China) as our enemy,” she told reporters at Chennai on Wednesday.
“We have the rights in the projects that were launched today and it (Kulasekarapattinam spaceport) was our leader Kalaignar’s dream and hence we participated in that,” she said.
The advertisement featured PM Modi and Chief Minister M K Stalin in the background of a rocket emblazoned with a Chinese flag. The advertisement also featured the images of Kanimozhi and Youth Welfare and Sports Development Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin, Velu and Animal Husbandry Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan. It also carries words highlighting the efforts of DMK leaders, including former CM M Karunanidhi, his son M K Stalin and MP Kanimozhi in making the project become a reality.
Source: TIE
