Chennai, March 14 -- BJP leader K Annamalai on Saturday took a swipe at Tamil Nadu Minister EV Velu following the latter's announcement that he would not celebrate his upcoming birthday on March 15, accusing the minister of using the Secular Progressive Alliance's upcoming protest as a "birthday advertisement."

This comes after Velu cited the SPA protest over cooking gas shortages and welfare schemes as the reason for his decision, a move Annamalai dismissed as a "diplomatic maneuver" to remind party members of his birthday.

In an X post, Annamalai claimed that in previous years, the minister had to post his own birthday posters because his own party members would forget the date.

"This year, he's taken on a new avatar. He has a desire...