Discussion on Chandrayaan-3 mission: BJP, Oppn spar in Lok Sabha over who did more for science

A day after the Rajya Sabha unanimously adopted a resolution congratulating the scientists on the success of Chandrayaan-3, a similar discussion took place in the lower house, which saw the treasury benches and the Opposition tussle over credits. BJP members sought to credit its previous governments for India’s advancement in space, while the Congress said that it was Nehru’s vision that was bearing fruit now. 

In his opening remarks, union defence minister Rajnath Singh described the success of Chandrayaan-3 as a testament to the robust scientific ecosystem and said in the last 9 years, 389 of 424 foreign satellites were launched by India. Union minister for space Dr Jitendra Singh, while responding at the end of the discussion, said that the budgetary allowance for space went from Rs 5168.96 lakh in 2013 to Rs 12543.91 crore in 2023, which marked an increase of almost 143%.

Congress floor leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury led to protests from the treasury benches when he urged the government to organise a felicitation ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan where the ISRO scientists could be honoured by the President, along with all Lok Sabha members.

Rajnath Singh said that India is now among elite nations in space missions. “There are many developed countries, more resource-rich, which are trying to reach the Moon, while India has become the first country to reach the South Pole of the Moon with limited resources. The success of this should be credited to the intellectual prowess and dedication of ISRO scientists. Women’s role in the success of the mission provided a new identity to India,” he said. 

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said that the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission is the culmination of efforts put in by all governments in the last six decades, which started under the tenure of Jawaharlal Nehru. “Today some in the government seek to make this rare moment to bask in glory and polarise the country by speaking as if all space endeavours only began in 2014,” Tharoor said. 

Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya said it was not Nehru, but BJP ideologue Syama Prasad Mookerjee and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee who contributed to India’s space efforts. Surya said that the Opposition focused on praising Jawaharlal Nehru, instead of the achievements of ISRO, leading to sharp reactions. Opposition leaders including Kanimozhi, Manish Tewari and Hibi Eden asked him to stick to facts.

DMK member A Raja asked the government not to give any “unscientific colour” to India’s space efforts.

When she rose to speak, NCP member Supriya Sule pointe at the absence of Cabinet Ministers in the House, and said that it shows a lack of seriousness towards proceedings and urged the Chair to put the matter on record.

Congress MP Karti Chidambaram said that it is unfortunate that while we have landed on the moon, the country still has manual scavenging. “How can we not build roads that are swept away by monsoon? We have scientific capacity, then where are we lost,” he asked. 

Responding at the end of the discussions, Dr Singh said that while Chadrayaan discovered that there was water on the moon, Vikram and Pragyaan landing on the south pole of the moon, will be the first time in history. “Tomorrow, when we will celebrate the passing of the women’s reservation bill, we may also celebrate becoming the first country to achieve this,” he said.