The ISRO complex at Kulasekarapattinam is worth about ₹986 crore and the facility is set to accommodate 24 launches per year.
Published Feb 28, 2024 | 7:13 PM ⚊ Updated Feb 28, 2024 | 7:13 PM
PM Modi at the Tirunelveli rally. (X)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday, 28 February, inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of multiple development projects, including a new launch complex of ISRO, total worth about ₹17,300 crore.
The ISRO complex at Kulasekarapattinam near Thoothukudi is worth about ₹986 crore and the facility is set to accommodate 24 launches per year.
Modi castigated the earlier UPA regime for not being “bothered about” Tamil Nadu’s progress. In a fierce attack on the DMK, he alleged that Tamil Nadu’s ruling Dravidian party does not cooperate with the Union government on its welfare schemes. The DMK took credit for the work done by the BJP regime at the Centre, he claimed.
The Prime Minister inaugurated projects in Thoothukudi and addressed a BJP rally at nearby Tirunelveli before concluding his two-day visit to Tamil Nadu. He had attended a rally in Tiruppur and an official event in Madurai on Tuesday.
Modi also sought an apology from the DMK over an advertisement published regarding the launchpad.
“DMK’s advertisement today (28 February) is hilarious. They have insulted Indian science and the Indian space sector, for which they must apologise,” he said.
Criticising the DMK for staging a walkout in the Parliament during a recent discussion on the Ayodhya Shri Ram temple, he alleged the DMK has again proved its hate for people’s faith.
“Tamil Nadu’s connect with Shri Ram is well-known. Before the 22 January consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, I visited different temples, including in Dhanushkodi (in TN). The entire country was happy that the temple was coming up after so many years. A related matter came up in the Parliament but the DMK MPs ran away,” Modi said at the Tirunelveli rally.
The DMK regime did not work but only took false credit and it affixed its “stickers” on Central schemes.
“Now they have crossed the limit. They have pasted the sticker of China to take credit for ISRO launchpad in Tamil Nadu. This is an insult to our country, an insult to our patriotic space scientists.” The people of Tamil Nadu will punish the DMK.
The Tamil Nadu BJP alleged that in an advertisement in a daily, the DMK used the “Chinese flag” and “Chinese language” to claim credit for bringing the new ISRO complex at Kulasekarapattinam.
DMK’s advertisement today is hilarious. They have insulted Indian science and the Indian space sector, for which they must apologise. pic.twitter.com/RwghHNji7q
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 28, 2024
Against this background, Modi alleged that the DMK is not prepared to hail India’s progress and the nation’s achievements in space technology. “They gave this advertisement from the tax that you pay. It didn’t have India’s space success, didn’t want to highlight it before the world.”
DMK Deputy General Secretary Kanmozhi said that the new ISRO launch complex scheme marked her party’s continuous efforts over the past 10 years, which will be a big boost for Tamil Nadu’s development.
Underlining his commitment to Tamil Nadu, he referred to the election of Union Minister L Murugan to the Rajya Sabha from the “Hindi heartland” state of Madhya Pradesh.
Attacking the DMK and the Congress, Modi alleged they created a rift among people and slammed them for dynasty politics.
Late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi was keen on making his son, MK Stalin the next chief minister. Likewise, Stalin’s desire is to make his son Udhayanidhi the chief minister.
Unlike DMK leaders who are only keen to ensure a good future for their children, the prime minister said he guarantees people a bright future for their children.
Once again, the prime minister praised late chief minister MG Ramachandran and said he was sure Tamil Nadu people would reject those working for their families and support those who worked for poor families.
He also charged the ruling DMK with refusal to cooperate in implementing Central schemes in Tamil Nadu and hit out at the Dravidian party on dynasty politics.
The “anti-development” political parties and the DMK government that are opposed to the state’s development have “looted you a lot in the name of development of Tamil Nadu.” “Modi will not let this happen. And this is also Modi’s Guarantee — “Idu Modiin Guarantee.”
For the BJP, national interests are the top priority. Referring to the release of fighter pilot Abhinandan from Pakistan, eight former Navy veterans from Qatar and the release of fishermen from Sri Lanka and other nations, he said: “Under Congress or coalition governments, such swift action for Indians’ safety wouldn’t be possible. They failed to ensure even an Indian’s safety in Pakistan for years.”
On making the nation ‘Viksit Bharat’ he said he had a track record of 10 years in governance and also a vision for the next 5 years.
In the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, on one side was the BJP which is committed to development and on the other side parties such as the DMK and the Congress seek power to take their families forward and “fill their family’s pockets.”
Inaugurating projects at Thoothukudi, Modi said Tamil Nadu is writing a ‘new chapter of progress,’ and due to the Central government’s efforts, modern connectivity in Tamil Nadu is ‘on a new high’.
In a veiled dig at the DMK, he alleged that through newspapers and TV channels he wanted to highlight the Centre’s efforts “the regime here won’t allow them to do so,”
“But we won’t desist from development work,” Modi asserted.
Kanimozhi and state minister EV Velu were on the dais.
Launching India’s first indigenous green hydrogen waterway vessel in Thoothukudy, Modi said increasing connectivity due to the consistent efforts of the Central Government has enhanced ‘ease of living’ in Tamil Nadu.
The new projects are an important part of the roadmap for a developed India, he said.
Apparently targeting the DMK-Congress and pointing to a slew of development projects launched, he said: “I need to tell a truth to people of Tamil Nadu and the rest of the nation. Truth is bitter but it needs to be told…all these projects that I have brought, they were demands of locals for decades.”
The DMK and the Congress were not ‘bothered about your progress’ even while being in power at the Centre in the past, he charged.
After he laid the foundation stone for the outer harbour container terminal for VO Chidambaranar Port, Modi said about Rs 7,000 crore will be invested in the project.
Later, in a post on X, Modi said, “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,” he said after winding up his Tamil Nadu visit.
People of Tamil Nadu appreciate the development of NDA government but the DMK Government does not allow the media to highlight the positive work done. Shameful! pic.twitter.com/C01B6I9SX5
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 28, 2024
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