Rajasthan Minister Salutes 'Passengers' On Board Chandrayaan-3; UP Leader Makes Similar Gaffe

ISRO's Chandrayaan-3 made an eagerly anticipated soft landing on the Moon on Wednesday, making India only the fourth country to do so and the first to reach the uncharted territory around its south pole.

Mau (UP): A slip of the tongue or some wishful thinking? It's not quite clear, but Uttar Pradesh politician Om Prakash Rajbhar did say the whole country should welcome Chandrayaan-3 when it lands 'on earth'. The Suheldev Bharatiya Samaj Party (SBSP) chief made the remark to a television reporter ahead of Wednesday's touchdown by Chandrayaan's lander module on the Moon.

Chandrayaan's flight to the Moon was unmanned, and there is no returning to earth for its lander or the rover. But the two leaders appeared to have other ideas.

In the short video clip, Rajbhar, a former minister, is heard congratulating scientists for their constant research.

On the Chandrayaan mission, he added, "I congratulate them on this. When it is time tomorrow for its safe arrival on earth, the whole country should welcome it."

In Rajasthan, Sports Minister Ashok Chandna too had made a gaffe -- he saluted the 'passengers' on board Chandrayaan.

Ashok Chandna had said, "If we are successful and make a safe landing, I salute the passengers."

Earlier, during a pre-landing event in Kolkata, West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee also gave a cosmic chuckle when she accidentally transformed astronaut Rakesh Sharma into the moon's own Bollywood director, Rakesh Roshan.

Banerjee spun a yarn about "Rakesh Roshan landing on the moon" and even reminisced about former PM Indira Gandhi casually inquiring about India's appearance from space.

Chandrayaan-3 made an eagerly anticipated soft landing on the Moon Wednesday evening, making India only the fourth country to do so and the first to reach the uncharted territory around its south pole.