On Wednesday, August 23, hours after the Chandrayaan 3 landed on the lunar surface, the Congress party congratulated the ISRO scientists but made a hysterical attempt to take credit for the mission.
Congress president and Rajya Sabha MP Mallikarjun Kharge wrote a long post on Twitter (X) first congratulating the country for the success of Chandrayaan 3 and then silently rushing to credit Nehru for the mission.
“We are deeply indebted to the remarkable hard work, unparalleled ingenuity, and unflinching dedication of our scientists, space engineers, researchers, and everyone involved in making this mission a triumph for India,” Kharge said congratulating the scientists.
Further lauding former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, he added, “These accomplishments are a testament to the vision of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru who emphasized and sincerely believed that a critical commitment to science could drive the spirit of development of our newly independent nation by igniting the spirit and minds of the people. This was later followed by successive Prime Ministers.”
The success of #Chandrayaan3 is the collective success of every Indian.
— Mallikarjun Kharge (@kharge) August 23, 2023
An elated nation with 140 crore aspirations witnessed today yet another achievement in its six-decade long space programme.
We are deeply indebted to the remarkable hard work, unparalleled ingenuity and…
The Congress leader further added that the party has always believed in the advancement of world peace and fellowship, and the descent of Vikram Lander on the surface of the moon, is a solemn affirmation of its commitment to use science for peaceful and welfare purposes.
Meanwhile, the official Twitter handle of the Congress party shared a graphic and specifically noted that the credit for the success of Chandrayaan 3 goes to India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru.
“It was independent India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, whose scientific outlook and vision laid the foundation of Indian space research,” the tweet read. The Congress party also said that Chandrayaan 1 and the Mangalyaan Mission were a great success led by the Congress party.
India's voyage to the moon and beyond is a tale of pride, determination & vision.
— Congress (@INCIndia) August 23, 2023
It was independent India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, whose scientific outlook and vision laid the foundation of Indian space research.
Today, the success of Chandrayaan-III is a… pic.twitter.com/Uc1PiIIesl
ISRO was made to struggle for funds during Chandrayaan 2 and Mars Mission
But it is important to note that while the Congress is praising itself for the success of the ISRO’s third lunar mission, it was the Congress government itself who made the ISRO struggle for funds during the Chandrayaan 2 mission.
According to a TOI report published in the year 2013, the ISRO was awaiting the Congress government’s approval for additional funds to develop a lander and rover for Chandrayaan 2. “We are seeking funds from the government. There is a marginal enhancement in the budget. We are awaiting the approval for the lander for Chandrayaan 2,” Isro chairman K Radhakrishnan was quoted as saying.
Also, during the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) the ISRO had sought Rs 892.69 crore to launch the GSAT-15 communication satellite but the Centre released only Rs 830.88 crore. Similarly, it had sought Rs 897.94 crore for GSAT-16 but got only Rs 865 crore and the space agency went on to complete the project with Rs 864.12 crore. Notably, Isro’s expenditure on the Mars Mission wasn’t even Rs 450 crore. The organization managed to reach the Mars orbit at Rs 447.39 crores, making it the world’s cheapest mission to the Red Planet.
This is not the first time that the Congress party has rushed to take credit for India’s moon mission. Earlier, after the launch of Chandrayaan 2 on July 22, 2019, Congress had showered praises on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh who sanctioned the Chandrayaan 2 project in 2008.
The Congress party had also lauded Pt Jawaharlal Nehru for funding space research through INCOSPAR in 1962 which later became Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Congress lauded Nehru and Manmohan Singh during Chandrayaan 3 launch
Reportedly, the Congress also attempted to take the credit for Chandrayaan 3 after it was successfully launched on July 14 this year. KC Venugopal, who serves as the general secretary of the All India Congress Committee (AICC), made no mention of the scientists for the successful launch of the lunar exploration mission.
“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,” he wrote.
He also shrewdly omitted the names of Lal Bahadur Shashtri and PV Narasimha Rao from his Twitter post.
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!
— K C Venugopal (@kcvenugopalmp) July 14, 2023
A proud moment for all, as we excitedly watch the #Chandrayan3 take off to conquer the moon!
Jai Hind 🇮🇳 pic.twitter.com/xXkMWwLKwG
In fact, Pakistan’s Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) was established in 1961, months before INCOSPAR came into existence.
Indian institutions always struggled for funds, while the Nehru Gandhi family enjoyed lavish luxuries on taxpayer money
While the Congress party rushes to credit Nehru and his descendants for everything India achieves, it is to be remembered here that almost all Indian institutions, even the armed forces, struggled for funds while the ‘family’ enjoyed their Prime Minister posts with lavish luxuries at the taxpayers’ expense.
Rajiv Gandhi and his family, along with his Italian in-laws, had spent a lavish vacation on an uninhabited Island in Lakshadweep, which was specially prepared for their stay. The family had traveled there by INS Viraat, India’s sole aircraft carrier in 1987. The naval carrier, along with all its support ships, was deployed as a personal taxi to ferry Rajiv Gandhi and his relatives to the Island.
Nehru, known for his expensive tastes and lavish lifestyle, used to have his clothes dry-cleaned and flown in from foreign countries. Special planes were sent to ferry his favorite pack of cigarettes and when his beloved Edwina Mountbatten died in 1960, aged 59, and was buried at sea by Lord Mountbatten in accordance with her wishes, Nehru sent the Indian Navy frigate INS Trishul as an escort and had a wreath cast in her memory. Nehru’s time was also the time when Indian Army soldiers did not even have winter clothes and proper shoes to protect them in the frozen altitudes of the Himalayas.
About Chandrayaan 3 mission
On 23rd August, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) achieved one of the most critical milestones in Indian Space history as Chandrayaan-3 landed successfully on the moon’s surface. At 18:04 hours, the spacecraft landed successfully on the moon, and the success was celebrated with cheers and applause at the ground station.
The official X handle of ISRO posted the success of Chandrayaan-3’s landing on the Moon. “Chandrayaan-3 Mission: ‘India, I reached my destination and you too,” it tweeted.
Chandrayaan-3 Mission:
— ISRO (@isro) August 23, 2023
'India🇮🇳,
I reached my destination
and you too!'
: Chandrayaan-3
Chandrayaan-3 has successfully
soft-landed on the moon 🌖!.
Congratulations, India🇮🇳!#Chandrayaan_3#Ch3
Chandrayaan 3 was launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota on July 14 this year. Post-landing the Pragyan rover and the orbiter are expected to investigate the elemental composition of the Earth’s only natural satellite, its surface plasma environment, lunar seismicity, and thermophysical features.
