BJP appoints CR Kesavan as national spokesperson

NEW DELHI: Ahead of the Lok Sabha election, Bharatiya Janata Party national president JP Nadda on Wednesday appointed CR Kesavan as the national spokesperson of the party.

The great-grandson of C Rajagopalachari, CR Kesavan, left the Congress last year and joined the BJP.

C Rajagopalachari was the last Governor-General of India.

Earlier, for the Lok Sabha elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday announced the election-in-charge and co-in-charge for several states.

Captain Abhimanyu has been appointed in charge for Assam, Nitin Nabin-Chhattisgarh, OP Dhankhad--Delhi, Dinesh Sharma--Maharashtra, M Chuba Ao-Meghalaya, Ajeet Ghopchade---Manipur, Devesh Kumar--Mizoram, Nalin Kohli---Nagaland, Abhay Patil--Telangana and Avinash Rai Khanna for Tripura.

Along with this, Shriraghunath Kulkarni has been made co-election in-charge for Andaman and Nicobar.

Alka Gujjar for Delhi, Nalin Kumar Katil-Kerala, Nirmal Kumar Surana--Maharashtra, Jaibhan Singh, Pawaiya--Maharashtra, Sanjeev Chauraisa--Uttar Pradesh, Ramesh Bidhuri--UP and Sanjay Bhatia--UP.

Lok Sabha elections will be held across seven phases beginning April 19. The counting of votes will take place on June 4.

Earlier, BJP leader CR Kesavan alleged that the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu insulted India's space scientific community by publishing a newspaper advertisement showing a 'Chinese rocket'.

"What DMK has done today is not only shameful but also condemnable. When one speaks about the Indian space sector, the first thing that comes to mind is Dr. Abdul Kalam, who was from Tamil Nadu. But we need to look at the way the DMK and BJP behaved and treated such great people," Kesavan told ANI.

"It was in 1997 that the BJP government gave the Bharat Ratna to him and it's the BJP government that made Abdul Kalam President in 2002, despite him not being a politician. The DMK, today, insulted the contribution and memory of Dr. Abdul Kalam, the entire space sector and the scientific community," he added.

He alleged that the DMK has a long history of a separatist mindset and a "fake" North-South narrative.

"One thing that people should understand is that this is not just a disregard for India's integrity; it's a frontal attack on India's integrity and sovereignty. The DMK should instruct the state fisheries minister to apologize to the entire country, the scientific community, and especially to the people of Tamil Nadu. If the DMK and its leadership fail to do it, it will be taught a very befitting lesson by the people of Tamil Nadu and the people of the country in the days to come," Kesavan said.