Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday accused the government of attempting to "airbrush" the milestones achieved in the space sector since the 1960s, and said the Indian space programme should be looked as an instrument of development and "not an instrument of muscular nationalism".
While lauding the Chandrayaan-3 mission, he said there was a need to remind the House of the people who have contributed so far to it, rather than fall victim to this new impression that has been created that this entire accomplishment is the result of only one individual.
Participating in a discussion on 'India's Glorious Space Journey Marked By Successful Soft Landing of Chandrayaan-3" in the Rajya Sabha, he said its success is based on the competencies, capabilities and capacities that have been created over 60 years.
"...we need to give our scientific and technological institutions full freedom. We need to give our scientific and technological institutions full independence and professionalism and we need to free our scientific and technological institutions of any political patronage and political interference and intervention," Ramesh said.
He called for acknowledging the glorious space journey that started in the early 1960s and the important milestones achieved so far.
"Even though the prime minister and the Leader of the House may choose to airbrush them away from history, they are a fact of life. They cannot be erased from history. They are very much part of our space journey," he said.
"I thought that it is important for me to remind the House where we have come from, the journey that we have taken, the achievements that we have had, the people who have contributed, rather than fall victim to this new impression that has been created that this entire accomplishment of Chandrayaan-3 and Aditya is the result of only one individual," he added.
If you intend to pass a resolution on Chandrayaan-3, please acknowledge that the capabilities, competencies and capacities that have resulted in its success are the results of investments made over the last 60 years. These are based on the contribution of successive prime ministers. These are based on contribution of a large number of Indian scientists and technologists, many of whom we don't even know of, many of whom we don't even acknowledge, the Congress leader added.
Ramesh has also posted a link to the video of his speech, one that TMC's Derek O'Brien endorsed as one of the finest speeches he's heard in Parliament. You can see it
here.