New Delhi, Sep 25: As the first astronaut from UAE lifted off into space, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said India takes inspiration from it for its human space programme.

Hazzaa al-Mansoori became the first astronaut from the UAE to fly to the International Space Station on Wednesday.

"Very happy to learn of the successful start to what will surely be a fabulous journey into outer space by our brother Hazza. I laud the vision of Sheikh @MohamedBinZayed! Congratulations UAE!" Modi, who is in New York, tweeted.

He said India takes inspiration from this feat of a good and close friend for its own human space flight programme which will take an Indian into space on an Indian spacecraft by the year 2022.

The prime minister was responding to a tweet by crown prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed.

"I proudly watched as Hazza Al Mansouri lifted off into space. This event strengthens our confidence in our youth who will take our nation to new heights and reinforces our ambitions for the future. We pray for Hazza's success and his safe return home," Zayed said on Twitter.

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Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.

In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.

Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.

He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.

Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.

He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.

Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.

He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.