As India scripted history on Wednesday with Chandrayaan-3's successful landing on the Moon, political leaders across parties hailed ISRO's countless scientists along with staking claim of the achievement. BJP leaders lauded new 'feats of success' in space exploration under PM Narendra Modi's government, whereas Congress leaders recalled Jawaharlal Nehru's vision and said the Chandrayaan-3 success is a tale of continuity of his vision.
Giving credit to ISRO scientists and PM Modi, BJP president J P Nadda said, "India is achieving new feats under Modi's leadership and carving a unique identity for itself, he said and described the success of the mission as true to the mantra of 'Aatmanirbhar Bharat'." The success was not possible without Modi's tireless efforts and the immense ability of our scientists. It is a historic and unprecedented achievement, Nadda said.
Noting the push the Modi government has given to India's space sector, Nadda said 47 of the total 89 satellite launch missions of ISRO happened under its nine years of rule. He further said that "no other government has done so much and the missions under the Modi dispensation were twice the numbers under the previous UPA regime."
The Congress party on the other hand, recalled that India's space journey began in 1962 and has, since then, continued to scale new heights and inspire generations of young dreamers.
"These accomplishments are a testament to the vision of Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru who emphasised 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; which was later followed by successive Prime Ministers," Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said in a video message.
The immaculate soft-landing of Vikram lander and Pragyaan rover is a fitting tribute to Dr Homi J Bhabha, Dr Vikram Sarabhai, Dr Satish Dhawan, Dr Meghnad Saha, Dr Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, Dr A P J Abdul Kalam and many other legendary scientists who paved the way for India’s unmatchable progress in the field of space research and scientific dexterity, he noted.
After landing on the moon, the Pragyan rover successfully rolled out of the Vikram Lander, with ISRO saying "India took a walk on the moon".
The rover would study the surface of the moon through its payloads APXS - Alpha Particle X-Ray Spectrometer - to derive the chemical composition and further enhance understanding of the lunar surface.
