Mamata Banerjee tweeted praise for ISRO scientists this afternoon. (File)
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee today said the scientists at the Indian Space Research Organisation "have worked hard" for Chandrayaan 2 mission, a day after attacking the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over India's second moon mission.
Earlier today, Chandrayaan 2, India's third expedition to a celestial body after Chandrayaan 1 and Mars Orbiter mission, suffered a setback when lander Vikram lost communication with ground station. The snag was reported minutes before Vikram was expected to land on the lunar surface.
Applauding the ISRO scientists for their efforts, however, Ms Banerjee said that the ambitious moon mission is a "befitting tribute to our founding fathers who envisioned India's place in the league of scientifically advanced nations far ahead of their times".
"We are proud of our scientists. The @isro team worked hard for #Chandrayaan2," she tweeted.
In another tweet, she wrote: "We are all with you".
Ms Banerjee's praise for ISRO scientists came a day after the 64-year-old leader attacked Prime Minister Narendra, who had gone to Bengaluru on Friday to watch the planned touchdown of the lander Vikram.
"Suddenly, today he (Narendra Modi) has gone there (at the ISRO headquarters in Bangalore) ... Now for the next four days the issue of Chandrayaan will continue to dominate. As if they (the BJP) have done everything in the country. (As if) they have invented science ..." she was quoted as saying by news agecy PTI.
She also hit out at the ruling BJP for taking credit for India's second moon mission, which was cleared by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in 2008. "They (BJP) are pointing to the Chandrayaan-2 mission as if they are the first to have done so. This (research work) is going on for the last 60-70 years," she had said.