President, PM Modi hail historic lunar mission launch

New Delhi: Congratulations poured in for the Isro and its team of scientists on Monday for the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 from the spaceport in Sriharikota, with the country hailing the lunar mission as “Indian at heart, Indian in spirit!.”

President Ram Nath Kovind, vice-president M. Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and leaders, cutting across party lines, congratulated the Isro scientists and engineers for the “historic launch” and said with the launch India will contribute to enhance the knowledge of humankind in the knowledge of the lunar surface.

Hailing the historic launch, President Ram Nath Kovind tweeted: “The historic launch of #Chandrayaan2 from Sriharikota is a proud moment for all Indians. Congratulations to our scientists and engineers for furthering India’s indigenous space programme. May @ISRO continue to master new technologies, and continue to conquer new frontiers..Chandrayaan2 will be the first spacecraft to land close to the moon’s South Pole in some 50 days from now. The mission is expected to lead to new discoveries and enrich our knowledge systems. I wish the Chandrayaan-2 team every success.”

Extending heartiest congratulation to Isro, its scientists and the department of space, vice-president and Rajya Sabha chairman, M. Venkaiah Naidu said that the Chandrayaan-2 is the “most powerful Indian rocket to date” and the Isro scientists’ achievement has “enhanced the country’s pride and confidence.”

Hailing Team Isro, the Congress also sought to claim credit for India’s advancement in space exploration, citing the contribution of its Prime Ministers.

“This is a good time to remember the visionary move of India’s first PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to fund space research through INCOSPAR in1962 which later became Isro. And also Dr Manmohan Singh for sanctioning the #Chandrayan-2 project in 2008,” the party said in a tweet from its official Twitter handle. Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala  also hailed the launch. However, the BJP hit back accusing the Congress of drawing the issue into political arena.

BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra hit back at the Congress, saying, “This is really demeaning.. It’s a proud moment for every Indian. Shouldn’t have been drawn into the political arena.

“By the way when there is No future leadership in view there’s a tendency to fall back on the past to stay relevant..Sadly this is what has happened to the Congress,” Patra tweeted.

Congratulating the Isro and said scientists, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said the launch is an “excellent example of the talent, capability and self confidence of the scientists to take on any challenge” noting that the scientists overcame glitches during the previous launch, proving their grit and determination.

Mr Modi spoke with Isro chief K. Sivan and congratulated him and the team involved in the mission, saying the launch is a matter of pride for all Indians.

“Last week, the launch had to be postponed due to technical reasons. You found the technical glitch with alacrity and took steps to solve it. And now, within a week you achieved success in the launch. You deserve a special congratulations for this,” said the PM adding “the bigger the challenge, the intention gets equally big.” He said it will be the first Indian spacecraft to reach the surface of moon and the country will become the fourth nation to land on the moon.

The Prime Minister also shared pictures of him watching the launch on a large screen and shared his audio message to the ISRO after the successful launch.
 
Congratulating the ISRO, BJP national president and Union home minister Amit Shah said they have set another benchmark in the field of space technology and that a grateful nation is proud of the ISRO scientists.

Hailing Team Isro, the Congress also sought to claim credit for India’s advancement in space exploration, citing the contribution of its Prime Ministers.

“This is a good time to remember the visionary move of India’s first PM Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru to fund space research through INCOSPAR in1962 which later became Isro. And also Dr Manmohan Singh for sanctioning the #Chandrayan2 project in 2008,” the party said in a tweet from its official Twitter handle. Congress’ chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala  also hailed the launch, saying India’s tryst with destiny continues.

“There are defining moments like these that make us a great nation. My gratitude to all scientists and space engineers at ISRO who have toiled day & night to make 130 Cr Indians proud!” he said in a tweet.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said the country is proud of the historic achievement of ISRO scientists. Former President Pranab Mukherjee said the launch was an extremely proud moment for the nation.

“Having closely observed Chandrayaan1 & MOM (Mars Orbiter Mission) in the Govt, I commend our brilliant scientists at ISRO for their stupendous progress over the years,” he said.