Prime Minister Narendra Modi monitoring the Chandrayaan-2 launch from New Delhi. (Source: Twitter/Narendra Modi)President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday called the successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 a historic event and congratulated the ISRO, as congratulatory messages on the event came from Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and many chief ministers and political leaders.
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…”
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In Rajya Sabha, Naidu congratulated the ISRO and said scientists behind the project deserved special compliments. Pointing out that a successful landing will make India the fourth country to achieve the feat, Naidu said, “No man-made object has ever reached the landing site chosen for the lander module of Chandrayaan-2.”
In multiple tweets, Prime Minister Modi said the mission will encourage younger people towards science. He said these “special moments” will be “etched in the annals of our glorious history”, and that the launch “illustrates the prowess of our scientists and determination of 130 crore Indians to scale new frontiers of science”.
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Modi tweeted, “Indian at heart, Indian in spirit! What would make every Indian overjoyed is the fact that #Chandrayaan2 is a fully indigenous mission. It will have an Orbiter for remote sensing the Moon and also a Lander-Rover module for analysis of lunar surface.”
Modi spoke with ISRO chief K Sivan and congratulated him and his team. “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. Now, within a week you achieved success in the launch. You deserve a special congratulations for this,” Modi said, according to PTI.
He also said, “The bigger the challenge, the intention gets equally big. I am told despite a delay of a week, the date of Chandrayaan-2 reaching the moon will remain the same.”
Congratulating the ISRO and the scientists, Home Minister Amit Shah tweeted, “I also thank PM Modi ji for encouraging our institutions for setting new standards every time…”
Opposition Congress credited Jawaharlal Nehru for funding space research. The party’s official handle tweeted, “Congratulations Team @isro for the successful launch of #Chandryaan2…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”.
The party also mentioned former PM Manmohan Singh “for sanctioning #Chandrayan2 project in 2008”.
ISRO chairman K Sivan speaks after the launch. (PTI)In a statement, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said, “Successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 has enhanced the pride and honour of India at the global level. This success is inspiring for every Indian. The countrymen are proud of the talent and capability of Indian scientists.”
West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee tweeted, “Indian scientists and ISRO, we salute you…Jai Hind.” While Tamil Nadu CM K Palaniswami said the achievement is a matter of great pride for the country and would inspire many young minds, his Andhra Pradesh counterpart Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy called it a historic occasion “as a billion dreams are being carried to the moon”. Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan tweeted, “This is the greatest technological achievements in Indian history…”
A boy waves the Tricolour during the launch in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh on Monday.Bihar CM Nitish Kumar said in a statement, “ISRO has made history with successful launch of Chandrayaan-2 from Sriharikota. It is a matter of pride for the entire nation. It is the result of hard work of ISRO scientists…”
