Attempting to score political points for the success achieved by the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) spacecraft 'Mangalyaan', Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyaya has congratulated the scientists of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh. Upadhyaya said that the success of India’s Mars mission is a “slap on the face of those people who have been for the last one year touring parts of India for stating that no progress has been achieved in the nation in the past 60 years”.
In a statement released to the media on Wednesday, the PCC chief has stated, “On August 15, 2011 the then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in his address from the ramparts of the Red Fort had announced Rs450 crore for the Mars mission while adding that soon a spacecraft built with indigenous technology would reach the red planet. The success of the Mars mission will help the nation not only in the field of science but will also facilitate development in various spheres from poverty eradication to varied developmental efforts.
The success of this mission has not been achieved in a short duration but is part of the continuing development story of the nation,” he adds.
Upadhyaya further said that the success of this mission is a dream envisioned by the UPA Government coming to fruition. The Uttarakhand Government will soon draft an action plan based on scientific achievements of the nation to facilitate development in the State, added the PCC chief.