Haryana House hails Chandrayaan mission; BJP, Cong quibble over who gets credit for achievement

The Haryana Assembly on Friday passed a resolution hailing the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon.

Chandigarh: The Haryana Assembly on Friday passed a resolution hailing the landing of Chandrayaan-3 on the Moon but the ruling BJP and the opposition sparred over who gets credit for the mission’s success.

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij left the Assembly in a huff when Speaker Gian Chand Gupta interrupted his attempt to get Leader of Opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda to explicitly thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the mission’s success.

---

While supporting the resolution – which mentioned Modi – Hooda had flagged the role of former prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru in promoting ISRO, the country’s space research agency.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar moved the resolution in the House on the opening day of the session here.

After the resolution was passed in the House, Vij kept insisting that Hooda thank the prime minister following which, a war of words erupted between the BJP and Congress members.

The Speaker asked Vij to go back to his seat, saying, “Please cooperate Vij Sahab.” After this, a visibly upset Vij left the House in a huff.

Later, in Vij’s absence, the Speaker said, “There is some confusion. I did not ask minister Anil Vij to get out of the House. I will request him to return. He should be in the House”.

When Vij returned after about an hour, Hooda, in a lighter vein, told him, “Aapke bagair House mein raunak nahin hai (There is no life in the House without you)”, with the BJP leader replying, “You (Congress) want that I should not be there, but people keep re-electing me”.

India’s Moon mission Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole at 6.04 pm on Wednesday, propelling the country to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.

After moving the resolution in the House to hail the successful landing of Chandrayaan-3, Khattar said congratulated the prime minister for the historic achievement.

He always boosted the morale of scientists and also encouraged them, said Khattar, adding that under the PM’s able leadership, India is carving out its distinct identity in the field of space research.

While supporting the resolution, Leader of Opposition and Congress leader Bhupinder Singh Hooda said this achievement of the country was not possible in just five or seven years.

“After the ISRO started, every prime minister starting from Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru had a contribution in it,” said Hooda, seeking that it should also be added to the resolution.

Vij then asked Hooda to thank the prime minister and asked why the Congress leader was hesitant in saying that the Chandrayaan-3 achievement was made during Modi’s time.

In his reply, Hooda said he had already supported the resolution.

While the Speaker intervened and told the home minister that Hooda had supported the resolution, Vij continued to ask the Congress legislator to thank Modi.

Meanwhile, Khattar said there was utilisation of components sourced from Rohtak and Rewari, citing nuts and bolts, and wires from these districts that were used in the mission.

He also lauded the prime minister’s “visionary approach” and “unwavering support and encouragement” that bolstered the morale of the country’s scientists at every juncture.