A day following the controversy sparked by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government’s use of a photograph of a Chinese rocket in an advertisement for a new Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) facility, the Tamil Nadu unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) wished Chief Minister MK Stalin a happy birthday in Mandarin, purportedly his “favorite language”.
Taking to the microblogging site X (formerly Twitter), the Tamil Nadu BJP extended birthday wishes to Chief Minister MK Stalin in Mandarin, stating, “On behalf of @BJP4Tamilnadu, here’s wishing our Honourable CM Thiru @mkstalin avargal a happy birthday in his favourite language! May he live a long & healthy life!”
This post surfaced shortly after the Tamil Nadu government acknowledged a “small mistake” in the advertisement, as highlighted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the inauguration of a new ISRO facility in the state.
Tamil Nadu Fishermen’s Welfare and Fisheries Minister Anitha Radhakrishnan, speaking to news agency ANI, addressed the issue, stating, “A small mistake has been made in the newspaper advertisement given by us regarding the setting up of a rocket launch pad in Kulasekarapatnam area.”
He further explained, “The image of the Chinese flag in the advertisement welcoming Prime Minister Narendra Modi was a mistake by those who designed the advertisement, which went unnoticed by us.”
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had, during the inauguration event, criticized the DMK, accusing them of falsely taking credit and pasting their stickers on government schemes. He specifically condemned the inclusion of a Chinese flag in the advertisement, asserting, “DMK is a party that does not work but stands ahead to take false credit. These people paste their stickers on our schemes. Now they have crossed the limits, they have pasted China’s sticker to take credit for the ISRO launch pad in Tamil Nadu.”
