The official social media handle of the Bharatiya Janata Party's (BJP) state unit in Tamil Nadu expressed birthday wishes to Chief Minister MK Stalin in Mandarin. Taking to Twitter, BJP Tamil Nadu shared a graphic image and wrote, "On behalf of BJP Tamil Nadu, here’s wishing our Honourable CM Thiru MK Stalin avargal a happy birthday in his favourite language! May he live a long & healthy life!"
The tweet also featured a graphical image conveying birthday wishes in Mandarin, a language predominantly spoken in China. Accompanying the post was another clarification post, where BJP Tamil Nadu explained the Mandarin text's translation, stating, "For those who would like to wish our CM in Mandarin, please use this: (Happy birthday Stalin! Wish you a long and healthy life!)."
This unusual move comes amid an escalating war of words between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the BJP. The tensions were ignited by a newspaper advertisement placed by a Tamil Nadu minister, Fisheries Minister Anitha R Radhakrishnan, featuring a rocket with a Chinese flag in reference to ISRO's upcoming spaceport at Kulasekarapattinam in Thoothukudi district. The advertisement, appearing in leading dailies ahead of the foundation stone-laying event by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, led to accusations and counter-accusations.
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Prime Minister Modi, addressing a rally in Tirunelveli, accused the DMK of disrespecting India's achievements in space technology, demanding an apology. He expressed his dismay, stating, "Now they have crossed the limit. They have pasted the sticker of China to take credit for the ISRO launchpad in Tamil Nadu. This is an insult to our space scientists, the space sector, your tax money and you (the country)."
In response, the DMK defended the advertisement as an unintentional error by the designer and criticized the Prime Minister for allegedly ignoring Chinese incursions along the Line of Control in eastern Ladakh. DMK MP P Wilson took to Twitter, stating, "The Prime Minister can see the Chinese flag in a paper ad with hawk eye vision, yet, has turned a blind eye in the past 10 years to reports of the Chinese flag being unfurled in Indian territory."