The West Bengal Chief Minister’s gaffe went viral on social media.
New Delhi:
As India celebrated the historic achievement of the Chandrayaan-3 moon landing mission at the lunar south pole on Wednesday, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s misstep has become the subject of ridicule.
Speaking at an event in Kolkata shortly before the Chandrayaan-3 lander landed on the moon, Chief Minister Banerjee mistook astronaut Rakesh Sharma for Bollywood actor and filmmaker Rakesh Roshan.
“On behalf of the people of West Bengal, I send my advance congratulations to ISRO. The scientists must be given credit. Credit must go to the country. When Rakesh Roshan (sic) landed on the moon, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked him how it works India from there,” said Ms. Banerjee.
Rakesh Sharma, an Indian Air Force pilot, became the first Indian to go into space in 1984 as part of the Soviet Union’s Soyuz T-11 expedition. The astronaut spoke to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from space during a live televised press conference.
Indira Gandhi asked Mr. Sharma: “How do you see yourself from above India?” (What does India look like from space?). He responded by quoting the poet Iqbal and saying: “Saare jahaan se achcha” (Better than the whole world).
The West Bengal Chief Minister’s gaffe went viral on social media, sparking thousands of memes at her expense.
Interestingly, Ms. Banerjee was not the only politician involved in a Chandrayaan-3 related error. On the other side of the country, a minister from Rajasthan congratulated the “passengers” of the Chandrayaan-3 mission despite the fact that it is an unmanned mission.
“If we are successful and achieve a safe landing, I salute the passengers. Our country has taken another step in science and space research. I congratulate the compatriots on this,” Rajasthan Sports Minister Ashok Chandna was quoted as saying. by the PTI news agency.
India made history by becoming the first country to land a spacecraft near the Moon’s south pole, a region believed to contain water ice. The landing took place at 6:04 pm on Wednesday and was greeted with cheers and celebrations at the ISRO headquarters in Bengaluru.
The Pragyan rover will explore the lunar surface over the next 14 days, or one lunar day, sending images and data back to scientists on Earth.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.