If politics is so bitterly divided, even a flight of imagination raises a dust.

This was manifest on Friday yet again when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi taunted Prime Minister Narendra Modi for asking if turbines could be used to create drinking water from the excess moisture in air as well as separating oxygen from air.

The query, which would have withstood scrutiny and critical evaluation had it been the product of a youngster’s creative thinking, triggered a political slugfest because the Prime Minister of India had made the suggestion in a formal conversation with Henrik Andersen, president and CEO of Vestas, a Danish company that manufactures wind turbines.

The principal Opposition leader, instead of laughing off the impractical idea, chose to point out what was wrong. “The real danger to India isn’t that our Prime Minister doesn’t understand. It’s the fact that nobody around him has the guts to tell him,” Rahul wrote, posting the two-day-old video on Twitter.

While many Congress workers and other social media users made fun of the Prime Minister, recalling his earlier questionable comments on matters related to science, the party’s official Twitter handle also ridiculed Modi saying he was playing the role of a scientist after ruining the economy.

Former Union minister Jairam Ramesh sarcastically said, referring to Modi’s educational qualifications: “This is what happens when you have an MA in entire political SCIENCE.”

The Prime Minister had tweeted after the conversation: “Had an insightful interaction with Mr Henrik Andersen, President and CEO, @Vestas. We discussed a series of issues relating to the wind energy sector. Highlighted some of India’s efforts to harness renewable energy in order to build a cleaner future for the coming generations.”

Modi had asked whether turbines could be used to create clean drinking water from excess moisture in air and whether this could also be used to separate oxygen from air. He had wondered if the same turbine could be used to manufacture oxygen, clean drinking water and energy with some technological advancement.

A smiling Andersen had replied: “…Come visit me in Denmark, you can be the idea developer for our research development. I can’t say how pleased I am with your ideas.” A visibly elated Modi had burst into laughter.

It is true that many scientific ideas have been laughed off and have appeared improbable at the beginning but have germinated into reality. But Congress leaders insisted that it was Modi’s track record of floating seemingly weird ideas — closer to fantasy and superstition than to science — that had prompted such a sardonic reaction from Rahul.

They recalled Modi’s claim that Lord Ganesha’s head was one of the first instances of plastic surgery and his arguments on climate change. He had said while talking to students: “Climate change is nothing. People get old and feel more cold than usual. Then they say it is climate change.”

Some Congress workers also posted videos of Modi narrating the experience of a tea seller who had used gas from a nullah, through a pipe, to light up his stove. He was also criticised for claiming that he had suggested to the Indian Air Force that they should take advantage of cloudy weather to escape detection by Pakistani radars.

BJP ministers and leaders rallied behind Modi on Friday, arguing his idea had been appreciated by Vestas chief Andersen.

Modi’s supporters had attributed scientific motives to his calls to the nation during the lockdown — such as banging utensils, clapping and lighting candles on designated dates and times — arguing how his suggestions had been based on calculations to obliterate the coronavirus from India.

His supporters had even sung “go corona go” in the hope of beating the global pandemic.

Railways minister Piyush Goyal tweeted: “Nobody around Rahul Gandhi has the guts to tell him that he doesn’t understand. He mocks PM Narendra Modi’s ideas when the CEO of the world’s leading company endorses them.”

Minister of state for home Kiren Rijiju tweeted: “…Narendra Modi ji speaks after deep research, understanding of subjects….”