India created history by becoming the first country to make a soft landing on the lunar south pole and entered the list of elite countries (the United States, Russia, China) to have reached the moon. The nation's joy knows no bounds and every Indian is beaming with pride over ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 mission successfully landing on the moon. However, down on earth, a goof-up by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee became a subject of ridicule and made Rakesh Roshan trend on the top on X (formerly Twitter) in India.
Congratulating the ISRO on behalf of the people of West Bengal in advance, Mamata Banerjee ended up recalling Rakesh Roshan instead of Rakesh Sharma and confused the space mission which was undertaken by Rakesh Sharma in the past with moon landing. "When Rakesh Roshan [sic] reached the moon's surface, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked him how India looked from there and he replied 'Saare Jahan se Achaa'," Ms Banerjee said.
As soon as the video of Mamata's gaffe went viral, netizens were quick to point out the obvious that the West Bengal Chief Minister had wanted to mention Indian Air Force pilot Rakesh Sharma, but instead recalled Bollywood film director Rakesh Roshan. Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to have travelled to space (not moon as claimed by WB CM Mamata Banerjee) and his reply to then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi's question that how did India look from space is part of the folklore.
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla reacted by sharing a video of Mamata Banerjee and wrote, "Had No Clue Indira Ji Had This Conversation With Rakesh Roshan."
India creates history
India on Wednesday (August 23) created history and became the first nation in the world to successfully make soft landing on the Moon's South Pole. Also, India joined the United States, Russia (then Soviet Union) and China and became only the fourth country to have reached the moon. The historic feat was celebrated across the country and the global space mission communities with great enthusiasm.
