INDIA: Chandrayaan-3, India’s lunar mission, took off from Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on July 14 marking the start of its month-long journey to the moon. All attention is now focused on the spacecraft, expected to land on the moon on August 23, and operate for approximately 29 Earth days.
However, amidst the celebrations, political parties engaged in a virtual brawl, vying to claim credit for ISRO’s third lunar mission.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the opposition Congress clashed on social media platforms. Congress leader KC Venugopal tweeted, attributing ISRO’s vision to the first Prime Minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, and highlighting the support it received from subsequent Congress Prime Ministers Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, and Dr. Manmohan Singh.
Venugopal’s tweet read, “The ISRO dreamt of by Pandit Nehru, nurtured by Indira Gandhi ji, and taken to great heights by Rajiv Gandhi ji and Dr. Manmohan Singh ji achieves a new milestone! A proud moment for all, as we excitedly watch the #Chandrayan3 take off to conquer the moon! Jai Hind.”
In response, BJP leader Amit Malviya gave a fitting reply, accusing Congress of seeking public attention by claiming credit for the Chandrayaan-3 launch. Malviya highlighted that out of the 424 foreign satellites launched by ISRO so far, 389 were launched in the last nine years under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He emphasized that Nehru’s contribution to ISRO was limited, as he passed away in May 1964, while ISRO was founded in August 1969. Malviya’s tweet read, “In their desperation to appropriate credit for the successful launch of Chandrayaan-3, the Congress claimed that it was all because Nehru had ‘dreamt’ of ISRO… Nehru did precious little, except dream.”
ISRO Chief S Somnath addressed the past Chandrayaan-2 mission, highlighting the off-nominal conditions that affected the landing.
He stated, “The main lacuna in the last Chandrayaan-2 mission was that there were off-nominal conditions that were initiated in the system. Everything was not nominal. And the craft was not able to handle the off-nominal condition for a safe landing.”
The clash between political parties over credit for ISRO’s achievements demonstrates the ongoing political rivalry in India, even in the realm of scientific achievements and space exploration.
Also Read: Chandrayaan-3 Successfully Launched, Setting India on the Path to Lunar Exploration
