New Delhi, Sep 21: The Lok Sabha on Thursday witnessed sharp exchanges between the opposition and treasury benches during a discussion on Chandrayaan-3’s success with INDIA bloc members asserting the mission was not the result of one particular individual’s efforts but of continuity in national governance and the BJP hitting back, accusing them of indulging in “Nehru bhajan”.
During the day-long debate, the lines between science and religion often got blurred with many invoking religious texts and the contribution of ‘rishi munis’ to highlight India’s tryst with the extra-terrestrial world.
However, opposition members stressed on encouraging scientific temper and keeping religion and science separate.
Initiating a discussion on the success of the mission and other achievements in the space sector, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said of the 424 foreign satellites launched by India so far, 389 have been done in the last nine years of the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said with the successful launch of foreign satellites, India’s space sector is rapidly gaining a prominent place in the world.
“This special session of Parliament is dedicated to the ‘Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam’. In such a situation, I consider the bill as a gift presented by a grateful nation to the women scientists of ISRO, and along with them the entire female scientific community of India,” he said.
“Science is value neutral. It can give us knowledge of nuclear power, but it is our culture which tells us whether we use that power in the form of energy for our own development or in the form of a weapon to destroy others,” he said. He said it doesn’t matter how much progress science makes, it will remain incomplete without culture and values.
He said that due to the foreign invaders, there was a halt in the progress, but now once again it is roaring with more strength than before.
The defence minister stressed the importance of cultural security, describing it as equally important to border, space, cyber, economic, social, food, energy and environmental security.
“No nation has made economic, social, political and scientific progress without cultural renaissance,” he said, adding that to take the nation forward, it is imperative to learn from India’s own culture.
After the minister spoke, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury said one should not confuse science with superstition. He said the government was crediting Modi for every achievement. (PTI)
