NEW DELHI: DMK member A Raja on Thursday asked the government not to give any "unscientific colour" to the Chandrayaan mission and said the effects of India's growing scientific prowess should percolate down to society.
Participating in a discussion on the success of the Chandrayaan-3 Mission in the Lok Sabha, Raja said India is among the top four superpowers in the world after the US, Russia and China, and added that till 1950, the universe and the galaxy were treated as "riddle".
"By putting the Chandrayaan in the correct orbit the mythological illusion has been removed and that is the success of the Dravidian concept," Raja said.
"I plead the government do not give any unscientific colour to Chandrayaan. America, the USSR, and China did not do that. Please put Vikram Sarabhai's name for Chandrayaan 3," Raja said and added that efforts should be made to ensure that the advances made in the field of science and technology percolate down to society and increase scientific temper.
Chandrayaan-3 touched down on the lunar south pole on August 23, propelling India to an exclusive club of four and making it the first country to land on the uncharted surface.
Raja said, "I feel that on one side you are sending Chandrayaan to space and (on the other side) your heart and brain going down somewhere else.
It is a contradiction. On one side the prime minister was jubilant about Chandrayaan-3 and on the other, he was very proud to launch the Vishwakarma scheme.
"He said the PM Vishwakarma scheme encourages people engaged in traditional craftsmanships, like barbers and goldsmiths, to remain in those professions only.
Raja stressed that the parity that India has achieved with America, Russia and China will give a message that the country is second to none in space research.
BJP member Nishikant Dubey, however, took objections to Raja's speech saying that Article 25 of the Constitution allows everyone to follow any religion of choice and no person can question their religious belief.
"But he (Raja) is attacking us. We follow Sanatan Dharma and we are Hindu, and you have no right to attack us," Dubey said.
Rajendra Agrawal, who was chairing the proceedings of the House, cautioned Raja and asked him to be careful in his remarks. "Sometimes mythology and history are mixed. They cannot be separated altogether. In our country it is a tradition to tell history through mythology," Agrawal said.