Former Karnataka Chief Minister HD Kumaraswamy on Thursday lashed out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that the PM had brought “bad luck” for the scientists in the ISRO who worked on the Chandrayaan-2 mission.
Taking potshots at the PM, Kumaraswamy said that “Modi came to Bengaluru to give a message that he himself was landing Chandrayaan-2”, and added that his visit was just “for the sake of advertisement”.
“Once he (Modi) stepped into the ISRO Centre, I think it became bad luck for scientists,” Kumaraswamy said at a press briefing.
In a major heartbreak for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), communications between India’s moon lander Vikram and the orbiter got snapped as the former was only 2.1 km away from its designated landing spot on the moon’s South Pole in the wee hours of September 7.
PM Modi, along with students from across the country, had gathered to witness the landing of Chandrayaan-2 lander on the surface of the moon at the ISRO Centre in Bengaluru.
As a pall of gloom descended over the ISRO centre, the PM asked the scientists to be “courageous and not lose hope”.
Leaders across the political spectrum praised the ISRO and urged its scientists not to lose heart after Chandrayaan-2 heartbreak.
Meanwhile, the space agency has informed that its moon lander Vikram has been located by the orbiter of Chandrayaan-2, but no communication has been established yet.
In a significant update on India’s moon mission, an ISRO official had said that the Vikram Lander is in a “single piece” though its position is “tilted”.
Not losing hope, the ISRO has continued to make all-out efforts to establish a link with Chandrayaan-2’s ‘Vikram’ lander, now lying on the lunar surface after a hard-landing.
Chandrayaan-2, India’s second moon mission spacecraft, lifted off successfully onboard the “Bahubali” rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota in Nellore district of Andhra Pradesh on July 22.