Mumbai/Bhopal/Raipur/Ahmedabad, Aug 23 (PTI) Prominent leaders across political spectrum in western and central states, including chief ministers, hailed the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon on Wednesday evening and congratulated the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for achieving the historic feat.

Chief Ministers of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh hailed India's landmark achievement after the spacecraft, which lifted off from the Sriharikota space centre on July 14, landed on the unexplored south pole of the Moon as the country erupted in joyous celebrations.

In a giant leap for its space programme, India's Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm, propelling the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first nation to land on the uncharted surface.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, who watched the Chandrayaan-3 landing from his official residence 'Varsha' in south Mumbai, said it was a moment of pride for every Indian.

"It demonstrates the success of all scientists," the CM said.

NCP president Sharad Pawar said Chandrayaan-3 was India's most important attempt in space exploration.

"Chandrayaan-3's success has given confidence to the scientific community. It will will make the whole world proud along with our country. Best wishes to all the scientists and fellow Indians. May such innovative experiments of ISRO continue to fly into space!," Pawar wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The former Union minister watched the soft landing by India's moon craft at Nehru Planetarium.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former state minister Aaditya Thackeray said, " India on the moon! A moment of great pride and joy as we witness soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the moon. Heartiest congratulations to ISRO and the entire scientific community that has propelled this dream to bring space age to India over the past few decades." Former Maharashtra CM and Congress leader Ashok Chavan said the country was proud of its scientific community.

In Mumbai, impromptu celebrations broke out at several suburban train stations, including Mumbai CSMT and Andheri as commuters cheered for India's successful Moon mission.

In the afternoon, members of BJP Minority Cell offered prayers at the famous Mahim Dargah in Mumbai for success of the Moon mission. Party activists and local residents were present on the occasion.

In Raipur, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel hailed ISRO scientists and country's people for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon.

"Our scientists have created history by making this difficult mission successful," he said in a statement.

India has become the first country in the world to land a spacecraft near the south pole of the moon and the fourth country to reach the moon, Baghel said and added citizens are proud of this achievement.

In Ahmedabad, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders celebrated the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission by distributing sweets with Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel calling this the beginning of the 'Amrit Kaal' for development of space science under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Patel extended his best wishes to ISRO scientists for the success of the Moon mission.

The Gujarat CM witnessed the live telecast of Chandrayaan-3 landing from the Space Application Centre (SAC) of the ISRO in Ahmedabad and praised PM Modi for making India's space programme stronger year after year.

Patel said Modi has opened the doors of opportunity for private players, students and teachers in the space sector.

"In nine years of the Modi government, the people of the country have experienced good governance and ceaseless development. India is recording one achievement after another in the space sector," Patel said in his brief address on the occasion.

The Gujarat CM said Modi has provided a platform to students from rural areas to dream of becoming space scientists. "The ISRO is exploring space for the benefit of humanity and Indians," Patel said.

Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil congratulated "Team ISRO" for the "pioneering feat." "#Chandrayaan3's soft landing on the uncharted lunar South Pole is the result of decades of tremendous ingenuity and hard work by our scientific community. Since 1962, India's space program has continued to scale new heights and inspire generations of young dreamers," said Gohil in a post on microblogging site X.

Gujarat BJP chief CR Paatil cheered for India as he witnessed the feat live from his residence in the presence of party leaders.

In a post on X, Paatil said he had the good fortune to witness this historic moment and felt "a new energy with wet eyes," like what was felt by the entire country.

"The success of Chandrayaan-3 has opened many new frontiers for (exploration) of the solar system. India has taken this first successful step towards realising the many potentials of the universe," Paatil said.

"On this auspicious day I express my heartiest hearty congratulations to Hon'ble Prime Minister Shri @narendramodi and salutations to all the scientists of @isro. This is the fruit of their continuous and hard work. Our country can never forget this day!" the Gujarat BJP president wrote on X.

Gujarat Governor Acharya Devvrat said with the success of the Chandrayaan-3 mission, Indian scientists have brought unprecedented respect and glory to the country at the world level.

"A golden Sun has risen in India today at sunset on 23rd August, 2023. Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the scientists have brought unprecedented respect and glory to India at the world level," a Raj Bhavan statement quoted Devvrat as saying.

In Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan congratulated ISRO scientists for the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3 and said the country is marching ahead on path of becoming a “Vishwa Guru” (world teacher).

“Our country is marching ahead on path of becoming a Vishwa Guru with continuous extraordinary achievements,” Chouhan said on X.

The MP chief minister further said, “Our @isro (ISRO) scientists did it. After a long journey with your knowledge and hard work, Mission #Chandrayaan3 has achieved historic success today, making every Indian proud. It is the result of strong resolve of respected Prime Minister @narendramodi ji that now our #VikramLander is on the moon and heralding India's success all over the world." Congress Rajya Sabha MP Digvijaya Singh and other leaders also congratulated the scientists on the achievement.

Singh wrote on X, “Heartiest Congratulations to all the Scientists who contributed to the successful landing of #Chandrayaan-3 on Moon. It is the Vision of Jawahar Lal Nehru and Indira Gandhi."

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