Taking a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, TMC MP Saugata Roy on Thursday said Chandrayaan-3 is not the result of one particular individual's efforts but of 50 years of scientific work done by hundreds of scientists throughout the country.
Participating in a discussion in the Lok Sabha on the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission and other achievements of the nation in the space sector, Roy credited the likes of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru, former prime minister Indira Gandhi, ace Indian scientists Vikram Sarabhai, Satish Dhawan and U R Rao for the advancement of India's space programme, claiming that the BJP had "no role" in it.
"When we saw the soft landing (of Chandrayaan-3) on Moon, then suddenly we saw Prime Minister's photograph on screen, the whole country wanted to see Chandrayaan then we saw the PM, why should this happen. Chandrayaan is not the result of one particular individual's efforts. It is the result of 50 years of scientific work done by hundreds of scientists throughout the country," Roy said.
"I was pleased to hear Rajnath Singh on scientific temper, the man who spoke on scientific temper was Jawaharlal Nehru. You do not accept anything without experiment, without logic.... While speaking on Chandrayaan, I don't bring Ram Mandir like Rajnath Singh," he said, taking a dig at the defence minister.
"When somebody at the top says that Ganesh had plastic surgery, I do not accept it. When someone says Kauravas were born due to IVF, I do not accept this. In Ramayana, the pushpak rath was a discovery by Indians, I don't accept it. I only accept what is proved by science," he said.
The TMC MP pointed out that it was Nehru who set up Indian National Committee for Space Research or INCOSPAR in 1962 with Sarabhai as the head.
"When Indira was PM in 1969, ISRO was set up and in 1972, department of space was set up. What is happening today is legacy of what Sarabhai started in 1962," he said.
Roy said the "lakshya" (aim) is to take the country forward and remove their (pointing to treasury benches) bad habits.
He said the International Space Station (ISS) is operated with five partners -- the US, Russia, Japan, Europe and Canada. Roy added that China also has a space station.
"Our rank is sixth after US, Russia, Japan, Europe, Canada and China.... China has advanced a lot. I pay tributes to Nehru and Indira Gandhi, they advanced our space programme. I also pay tributes to Vikram Sarabhai, Satish Dhawan, U R Rao. The BJP has no contribution, it is the contribution of scientists," he said.
NCP leader Supriya Sule also lauded the likes of Nehru, Sarabhai, Rao and EV Chitnis for India's space programme.
She also cautioned against "blind faith", saying faith is good but not blind faith. Sule called for developing a scientific temper.
Shiv Sena's Prataprao Jadhav said Prime Minister Narendra Modi's tenure has put the country at the forefront of scientific accomplishments.
He said the creation, protection and destruction of 'Brahmand' (universe) is in the hands of "Brahma, Vishnu, Mahesh", some call them God.
"While giving credit to the scientists, I would also like to credit our rishi-munis who wrote our religious texts and thousands of years ago, made a mention of all these things," he said.
JD(U)'s Dileshwar Kamait, BJD's Achyutananda Samanta, BSP's Ram Shiromani Verma, BRS' Kotha Prabhakar Reddyalso lauded the efforts of scientists.
Rashtriya Lok Jan Shakti Party leader Prince Raj hit out at the opposition, alleging that they were trying to take credit for Chandrayaan-3.
"There should be no politicking and we should stick to the topic," he said.
Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.
