Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar on August 26 said there was nothing wrong with Prime Minister Narendra Modi visiting the Indian Space Research Organisations (ISRO) command centre in Bengaluru where he met the scientists who were involved in the Chandrayaan-3 project.
Pawar also said it was up to politicians of the country to encourage the scientists.
Addressing a Press Conference in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur, Pawar said, “If the Prime Minister (Narendra Modi) has gone to Bengaluru, then according to me it is not a wrong thing. ISRO scientists have enhanced the prestige of the country, It is up to the politicians to encourage the scientists, there is no need for any kind of protocol to go there”.
Pawar said the “prestige’ of the country has increased following the Chandrayaan-3’s historic moon landing.
“Their hard work has shown the entire world that the moon can be studied very closely,” he said.
PM Modi congratulated ISRO scientists who were involved in the Chandrayaan-3 project that culminated in the historic lunar landing mission of India.
On August 23, the country became the first to place a lander on the uncharted south pole of the moon.
PM Modi, who followed the final moments of the touchdown of the lunar lander, ‘Vikram’, virtually from South Africa where he was attending the 15th BRICS Summit, met the scientists behind the country’s maiden lunar landing project at the ISRO’s Telemetry Tracking and Command Network Mission Control Complex in Bengaluru today.
ISRO Chairman S Somanath personally received PM Modi, who patted his back and hugged him for the successful culmination of the daunting lunar landing mission. During his address, PM Modi turned emotional while recalling the final 15 challenging minutes of the Chandrayaan 3.
The PM also announced that August 23 will be celebrated as National Space Day to mark Chandrayaan 3’s landing on the Moon.
PM Modi said that the touchdown spot of the Vikram lander on the lunar surface would be known as the ‘Shivshakti’ point while the Chandrayaan-2 Lunar landing point will be called the ‘Tiranga’ point.
The Prime Minister also posed for a group photo with the team of scientists behind the project.
Somanath briefed PM Modi on the ISRO’s 40-day journey to the lunar South Pole and the efforts that went into the project. Prior to meeting the scientists, PM raised the slogan ‘Jai Vigyan Jai Anusandhan’ and greeted people lining the streets outside HAL airport on his arrival in Bengaluru.
As the Chandrayaan-3 lander touched down on the uncharted lunar South Pole, India became the first country to land on the South Pole of the lunar surface and only the fourth country to land on the Moon after the US, Russia and China.
(with inputs from ANI)
