“When Indira Gandhi reached on the moon…”: Mamata Banerjee commits another gaffe

It seems like West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee cannot get facts about India’s space exploration journey right. Days after mistaking astronaut Rakesh Sharma for filmmaker Rakesh Roshan, Banerjee committed yet another gaffe when she said that the former Indian Prime Minister Indira Gandhi had gone to the moon.

During one instance at the TMC Youth wing rally, Ms Banerjee said, ‘When Indira reached on the moon, she asked Rakesh how does India look from the moon.”

“When Indira Gandhi reached to Moon, She asked Rakesh how does India look from Moon”

1st Rakesh Roshan, now Indira Gandhi reached to Moon.

Didi 🙏🏻🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 pic.twitter.com/Hm2WMkA41w

— Facts (@BefittingFacts) August 28, 2023

Earlier last week, as India achieved the milestone of being the fourth country in the world to successfully soft-land a rover on the lunar surface, Mamata Banerjee confused astronaut Rakesh Sharma with filmmaker Rakesh Roushan to recount about Sharma’s conversation with former PM Indira Gandhi.

In the video that later became a butt of all jokes, the Bengal CM was seen saying, “I remember, when Rakesh Roshan landed on the Moon, Indira Gandhi asked him how does India look from there..”

Didi #Chandrayan3 ki landing ke jagah ‘Koi Mil Gaya’ dekh ke aayi hai 😭😭🤣🤣🤣🤣 Rakesh Roshan 😭 pic.twitter.com/ELABg07hFw

— Facts (@BefittingFacts) August 23, 2023

It was Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, not Rakesh Roshan, and it was space, not Moon

What Mamata Banerjee probably meant was the conversation between Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, India’s first astronaut, and the then-Indian PM Indira Gandhi. 

Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma, an Indian Air Force pilot, had flown in a Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11, in April 1984, becoming the first ever Indian to travel to space. The space flight was a part of the Soviet Interkosmos program. The famous conversation between Indira Gandhi and Sharma took place when he was onboard the spacecraft. 

When Indira Gandhi asked Sharma how India looks from space, Sharma answered, “Saare Jahan Se Achcha, Hindustan Hamara” which means “the most beautiful in the world”.