Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday targeted the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) in Tamil Nadu over a newspaper advertisement of the state government that allegedly showcased a ‘Chinese rocket’.

Addressing a massive rally in Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu, he said, “Today’s advertisement of DMK is ridiculous. They have insulted Indian science and Indian space and for that they should apologize.”

The Prime Minister accused the DMK of ‘looting’ people’s tax money and alleged that the state government had insulted the scientists of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) who were part of the country’s successful space missions, including Chandrayaan-3.

“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,” PM Modi said, addressing the gathering at Tirunelveli.

He said “they are not ready to accept India’s progress in the space sector and with the taxes that you pay, they give advertisements and do not even include a picture of India’s space in it. They did not want to present India’s space success in front of the world, they insulted our scientists, our space sector, and your tax money. Now it’s high time that the DMK is punished for their deeds.”

He said the people of Tamil Nadu appreciate the development work being carried out by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government, but the DMK government does not allow the media to highlight it. This was shameful, he said.

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government led by the Congress, of which the DMK was a major component, delayed the development of Tamil Nadu, Mr Modi said.

The prana pratishtha at Ram Temple, Ayodhya was a historic moment, the Prime Minister said. The DMK walked out when a resolution was brought in this regard in Parliament, he said. “DMK really hates our culture,” he said.

“DMK and Congress are hell-bent on dividing the nation. Whereas, the BJP considers every person a family member,” the Prime Minister said.

He expressed confidence that people in the state look up to BJP for development. Mr Modi said over the last two days, “the affection I have received from my sisters and brothers in Tamil Nadu is immense. The number of youth and women joining our programmes is tremendous. These blessings give me the strength to work even harder for the people.”