A newspaper advertisement praising the establishment of a second launch pad for ISRO, the Indian space agency, in Kulsekarapatinam, Tamil Nadu, has sparked an outcry due to the rocket’s prominent display of the Chinese flag. Anitha Radhakrishnan, the Minister of Animal Husbandry for Tamil Nadu, commissioned the advertisement in his individual capacity. It emphasized the role played by the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam in bringing this long-pending project to the state.

The poster shows PM Modi, who was in the state recently, with Chief Minister MK Stalin side-by-side, with a rocket in the background. That rocket, with its red nose and four golden stars arcing around the right side of a larger fifth star, is the source of all the controversy. The Chinese national flag is marked with the same emblem.
“It’s time to hold the DMK accountable for their actions,” the prime minister remarked.

The leader of the BJP’s state unit, K Annamalai, has intensified Modi’s criticism with a lengthy and heartfelt post on X, wherein he denounced his opponent’s “complete contempt for our nation’s sovereignty” and described the rocket issue as a “expression of DMK’s dedication to China.”

Kanimozhi, a senior MP, defends it, saying, ‘What is wrong in having a Chinese picture?'”
I don’t think India has designated China as a ‘enemy country’. The PM traveled to Mamallapuram, a historic temple town close to Chennai, with Chinese PM Xi Jinping at his invitation”.

“You (the BJP) are looking for ways to deflect the issue because you don’t want to accept the truth,” she further said.