'Hanuman first space traveller' remarks assault on rational thought: CPI(M)
New Delhi (PTI): BJP leader Anurag Thakur's remarks that Hindu god Hanuman might have been the first space traveller is an assault on rational thought, Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary MA Baby said on Tuesday.
Taking to X, the CPI(M) leader said the BJP leader was "mocking science", and said India needs to invest in research, not "anti-science theatrics".
"BJP leaders like Anurag Thakur are mocking science! Even in the myth, Hanuman travelled through the atmosphere, not space," Baby said in a post on X.
"His exhortation to students is indeed a betrayal of the scientific temper enshrined in our Constitution," he said.
"This assault on rational thought insults our students and scientists alike. India needs investment in research & education - not anti-science theatrics," the CPI(M) leader said, adding a hashtag "defend science" to his post.
Senior BJP leader Anurag Thakur told students at a school event in Himachal Pradesh that Lord Hanuman might have been the first space traveller.
The former Union minister made these remarks while addressing a National Space Day event at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Pekhubela in Una district.
Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961, became the first person to travel to space.
In a video clip of his interaction with the students shared on X, Thakur can be seen asking the students, "Antriksh main yatra karne wala pehla kaun tha? (Who was the first one to travel into space?)". Some students reply, "Neil Armstrong."
To this, the five-time Hamirpur MP replied, “I think it was Hanuman ji."
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'Rear-guard action': BJP over Mamata accepting sports minister's resignation after Messi event
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Tuesday alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's accepting Aroop Biswas' resignation as the state sports minister is nothing but a "rear-guard action" to douse public anger over the mismanagement of football icon Lionel Messi's event last week.
BJP co-in-charge for West Bengal Amit Malviya alleged that this is also an "open confession" that the Messi event fiasco was not accidental but a government-manufactured disaster, borne out of the poor governance of Banerjee, her ministers and the state bureaucracy.
Banerjee on Tuesday accepted Biswas' resignation as the sports minister in the wake of the controversy over the mismanagement of football icon Messi's event last week, a senior leader of the ruling TMC said.
Biswas, who had written to the chief minister seeking to be relieved of his responsibilities as sports minister, will continue as a cabinet minister, retaining charge of the power department.
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Reacting to the development, Malviya said in a post on X, "TMC Sports Minister Aroop Biswas resigns after the Messi fiasco and Mamata Banerjee accepts it in record time."
"Do not mistake this for accountability; this is nothing but a rear-guard action to douse public anger. anger! This is not 'Raj Dharma'," he added.
The BJP leader alleged that the incident was the outcome of "loot" of common people which is "so synonymous" with the TMC.
The incident was also the outcome of the "shameless VIP culture that TMC thrives on and deep-rooted cronyism promoted by Banerjee," he charged.
Malviya further alleged that Biswas' resignation exposes a "collective failure of Mamata Banerjee, her partisan bureaucracy, and her crony cabinet".
"This is a symbolic sacrifice, a political hoax, soon to be buried under layers of bureaucracy, with no justice, no accountability, and no remorse," the BJP leader said, adding, "No resignation will bring back the time lost, the money wasted, or the stolen chance for football lovers to witness Messi in Kolkata."
