"India's space scientific community insulted": CR Kesavan on 'Chinese rocket' row

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], February 28 : BJP leader CR Kesavan on Wednesday alleged that the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu insulted India's space scientific community by publishing a newspaper advertisement showing a 'Chinese rocket'.
"What DMK has done today is not only shameful but also condemnable. When one speaks about the Indian space sector, the first thing that comes to mind is Dr. Abdul Kalam, who was from Tamil Nadu. But we need to look at the way the DMK and BJP behaved and treated such great people," Kesavan told ANI.
"It was in 1997 that the BJP government gave the Bharat Ratna to him and it's the BJP government that made Abdul Kalam President in 2002, despite him not being a politician. The DMK, today, insulted the contribution and memory of Dr. Abdul Kalam, the entire space sector and the scientific community," he added.
He alleged that the DMK has a long history of a separatist mindset and a "fake" North-South narrative.
"One thing that people should understand is that this is not just a disregard for India's integrity; it's a frontal attack on India's integrity and sovereignty. The DMK should instruct the state fisheries minister to apologize to the entire country, the scientific community, and especially to the people of Tamil Nadu. If the DMK and its leadership fail to do it, it will be taught a very befitting lesson by the people of Tamil Nadu and the people of the country in the days to come," Kesavan said.
Meanwhile, state BJP chief K Annamalai accused the ruling DMK of having allegiance towards China, saying they wanted to stop a rocket launching facility from coming up in the state after a sitting minister put out a newspaper advertisement purportedly showing a 'Chinese rocket'.
"DMK wants to stop the rocket-launching facility from coming up here. And for that, they are going to any lengths to please their masters," Annamalai told ANI.
"On the day when the Prime Minister is on our Tamil soil and has proudly laid the foundation stone for India's second rocket launching facility from the southern part of Tamil Nadu, a DMK minister put out a newspaper advertisement with a Chinese rocket in the background. Kanimozhi, who is a senior MP, defends it, saying, 'What is wrong with having a Chinese picture? They are not our enemies'," he added.
Earlier in the day, defending the newspaper advertisement, DMK leader Kanimozhi said, "I don't know from where the person, who did the artwork, found this image. I don't think India has declared China an enemy country. Our Prime Minister invited the Chinese PM to the country and even visited Mahabalipuram. They don't want to accept the truth and are resorting to diversionary tactics to take the attention of the public away from real issues."
Prime Minister Narendra Modi also criticized the DMK government over the newspaper advertisement while addressing a gathering in Tamil Nadu's Tirunelveli.
"DMK is a party that does not work but leads the line when it comes to taking false credit. These people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now they have crossed all limits by pasting a China sticker to take credit for an ISRO launchpad in Tamil Nadu," PM Modi said.
He alleged that the DMK was 'not ready' to accept the country's progress in the space sector.