Protest against launching of Israeli satellite Polaris

Chennai, Feb 2: Activists of the Tamil Nadu Muslim Munnetra Kazhagam (TMMK) are protesting against the launch of an advanced Israeli reconnaissance satellite by India.

TMMK activists said the satellite launch went against the central coalition's agenda for governance. "We are protesting because this action of the UPA Government goes against the Common Minimum Programme (CMP)," said TMMK President M H Jawahirullah. "In the Common Minimum Programme it is clearly stated that the UPA Government will strive for and will come forward to fulfill the decade-old commitment for a homeland for Palestinians and the fresh thrust will be given to the ties with the countries in West Asia. Now the Israeli spy satellite has been launched to look at what is happening in Iran and other friendly countries," he added.

Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on January 21 launched an Israeli satellite 'Polaris' from the "Satish Dhawan Space Centre" at Sriharikota.

India, which has developed close ties with Israel over the last few years, was chosen to launch the satellite mainly because of commercial reasons - it is cheaper than many alternatives, rather than any geopolitical issues, according to analysts.

ANI