Chandrayaan-3 moon landing | Salute, scientists: BJP notes Modi leadership, Congress Nehru’s vision

While congratulating the scientists, BJP chief J P Nadda said, “I would like to thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi…. Under his leadership, the country is creating new feats of success, carving a unique space for itself in the field of space exploration. This is true to the mantra of ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’.”

An ISRO image of the Chandrayaan-3 landing site taken after touchdown. One of the four legs of the lander is visible on the right

He said the success within a span of four years “would not have been possible without the Prime Minister’s relentless efforts and the incredible ability of our scientists”.

Nadda said since its inception in 1969, ISRO has had 89 launch missions carrying satellites into space, of which 47 were launched by the Modi government in the last nine years. Stating that “no other government launched these many missions”, Nadda said this is twice the number of missions launched under the UPA.

The Congress stressed that India’s space journey began in 1962 and has achieved many feats since then. Recalling Nehru’s vision and remembering the contributions of legendary scientists — from Homi Bhabha to A P J Abdul Kalam — the party said the incredible feat was yet another milestone in India’s six-decade-long space journey.

“The success of Chandrayaan-3 is the collective success of every Indian,” Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said. “An elated nation with 140 crore aspirations today witnessed yet another achievement in its six-decade long space programme. We are deeply indebted to the remarkable hard work, unparalleled ingenuity and unflinching dedication of our scientists, space engineers, researchers and everyone involved…”

‘It is truly a momentous occasion — a kind of event that happens once in a lifetime’ Droupadi Murmu President of India, in her address to the nation.

Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said, “Chandrayaan-3’s soft landing on the uncharted lunar south pole is the result of decades of tremendous ingenuity and hard work by our scientific community. Since 1962, India’s space programme has continued to scale new heights and inspire generations of young dreamers.”

Senior party leader P Chidambaram tweeted, “All the people of India are proud of the success of Chandrayaan-3 mission and warmly congratulate our scientists, engineers and technicians who worked on the mission. The saga of our space exploration started with Aryabhatta and ISRO has now written a golden chapter…. May the success of Chandrayaan-3 inspire us to go higher and further where no human has gone before.”

Noting that India’s space programme has achieved many feats since 1962, Kharge said, “From Aryabhatta Mission, to Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma’s space Odyssey, where he said “Sare Jahan Se Achha Hindustan Hamara”, to Chandrayaan Missions, India has come a long way in space research and exploration,” he said.