New Delhi: As India on Wednesday successfully landed a spacecraft near the moon’s south pole, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science and Technology, Atomic Energy and Space Dr Jitendra Singh said there were years of hard work behind the success even as he praised Prime Minister Modi for making Space Department "open for all".
"The entire country, everyone in India acknowledged and felt this success because there was no secrecy involved. It is a sign of Amritkaal that Modi ji talks about," Dr Singh told ETV Bharat in an exclusive interview. "The journey (of becoming a vishwa guru) in 25 years that PM Modi often talks about has started via space," he said.
On Congress giving credit of Chandrayaan-3's success to former Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, the Union Minister said: "I asked the media persons have they been able to report from the Bengaluru centre. They said no. So I told them this is the difference. There was a lot of secrecy involved since the times of Nehru ji which is not there anymore....Modi ji allowed the private sector into space. Today we have over 150 startups," he said.
