A minister in the Congress government in Chhattisgarh has kicked up a controversy with a comment that Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched Chandrayaan -2, something that was not a previous government's work, and it failed.
State Food Minister Amarjeet Bhagat clarified later that he did not mean to belittle the achievement of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
Speaking to reporters in Koriya district on Monday, the minister said, "So far, Modi was cutting the ribbon and inaugurating the works done by others (previous governments) and receiving accolades. For the first time he went to launch (attended the launch of) Chandrayaan-2, and that too failed."
He was replying to a question about the report card of the NDA government on completion of 100 days.
On Tuesday, Bhagat clarified in a Facebook post that he did not mean to disparage the achievements of Indian scientists.
"Our scientists did hard work for Chandrayaan-2 mission and every citizen of the country prayed for its success...I have full respect for the scientists of ISRO," he said.
"They should get credit for their achievements. I only wanted to say that politicians should not take credit," he said.
"As an Indian, I always respect national institutions," Bhagat dded.
Slamming the minister, state BJP spokesperson Sachchidanand Upasane said, "His remark clearly shows that Congress leaders can stoop to such a low level. The entire world is lauding Chandrayaan-2. Even Pakistani astronaut appreciated the mission. Only those who are turning a developed Chhattisgarh into an undeveloped state can have this kind of mindset."
ISRO's moon mission achieved partial success on Saturday as its lander 'Vikram' lost communication with the ground-stations during its final descent, just 2.1 km above the lunar surface.
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