National Desk, 24th August: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stirred up a bit of confusion when she mentioned astronaut Rakesh Sharma’s conversation with former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi during an event celebrating the successful soft landing of ISRO’s Chandrayaan 3 on the moon’s south pole.
In her speech, Banerjee mistakenly referred to astronaut Rakesh Sharma as Bollywood personality Rakesh Roshan, who is unrelated to space missions. She also mixed up the context by suggesting that Sharma had reached the moon when in reality, his conversation with Indira Gandhi took place from space.
Banerjee’s confusion adds to a list of instances where political leaders have displayed misunderstanding or misinformation about India’s space endeavors. Such instances highlight the importance of accurate knowledge dissemination, especially when discussing India’s prestigious space missions, to avoid spreading misinformation.