Indian minister's major gaffe leaves internet in splits as he salutes 'passengers of Chandrayaan-3'

As the world and India celebrated Chandrayaan-3's historic achievement of a moon mission landing on the lunar south pole on Wednesday (August 23), some ministers in the country made some embarrassing mistakes that left netizens in splits.

Indian state of Rajasthan's Sports Minister Ashok Chandna in a major goof-up on Wednesday extended congratulations to "passengers" he stated were part of the Chandrayaan-3 mission to the moon.

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"If we are successful and make a safe landing, I salute the passengers," the minister told reporters on the sidelines of an event. "Our country has taken a step further in science and space research. I congratulate the countrymen for this," he added.

Mamata Banerjee's faux pas

Meanwhile, a major faux pas by the Indian state of West Bengal's Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee became a subject of ridicule.

Addressing an event in Kolkata just before the Chandrayaan-3 landed on the moon, Chief Minister Banerjee mixed astronaut Rakesh Sharma with filmmaker and Bollywood actor Rakesh Roshan.

"On behalf of the people of West Bengal, I send my advance congratulations to ISRO. Scientists must get credit. Credit must go to the country. When Rakesh Roshan [sic] landed on the moon, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi asked him how India looked from there," Banerjee stated.

Indian Air Force pilot Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to go into space in 1984 as part of the Soyuz T-11 expedition of the Soviet Union. In a live televised news conference, the astronaut had spoken to then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi from the spacecraft.

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When Indira Gandhi asked Sharma, "Upar se Bharat kaisa dikhta hai aapko?" (How does India look like from space?), he responded with poet Iqbal's quote, "Saare jahaan se achcha" (Better than the whole world). The mistake of the chief minister went viral on social media and started a trail of thousands of memes over the gaffe.

INC says 'success of Chandrayaan-III a result of Nehru's efforts'

Meanwhile, in a post shared on X, the Indian National Congress (INC) said that Chandrayaan-III's success is a result of the early efforts of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru.

"India's voyage to the moon and beyond is a tale of pride, determination & vision. It was independent India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, whose scientific outlook and vision laid the foundation of Indian space research. Today, the success of Chandrayaan-III is a result of his early efforts," INC wrote.

A successful soft-landing was made by Chandrayaan-3 on the moon on Wednesday evening which made India the first country to land on its uncharted south pole.

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