Shiv Shakti point vs Jawahar point: ‘You are anti-Hindu’ vs ‘Modi not owner of moon’

A massive war of words between the BJP and the Congress erupted on Saturday after PM Modi named the touchdown point of Chandrayaan 3 on the moon as ‘Shiv Shakti Point’. Senior Congress leader Rashid Alvi said the name is ridiculous as PM Modi has no right to name the lunar surface.

“The entire world will laugh. Who has given PM Modi the right to name a point on the moon. We have landed, it is very good. We are proud of it, no doubt in it. But we are not the owner of the moon or the point,” Rashid Alvi said in a television interview where he was countered with ‘Jawahar point’.

Jawahar Point is the name where Chandrayaan 1, the first Moon Mission, crash-landed on the moon in 2008. On a question that PM Modi did not name the point after himself or after any BJP leader like Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Rashid Alvi said, “You can’t compete Jawaharlal Nehru with anything. Whatever Isro is it is only because of Jawaharlal Nehru. In 1962, it was Vikram Sarabhai and Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru who founded Isro. So you can say that Pandit Nehru founded all this. That is absolutely different thing. But now Modiji is politicising the thing.”

Rashid Alvi’s statement drew BJP’s salvo as party’s national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla said Congress only revealing its ‘anti-Hindu’ self. “This is the same party that questions the existence of Lord Ram, opposes Ram Temple and abuses Hindus. Both the names — Shiv Shakti Point and Tiranga Point — are attached to the country. Why does Rashid Alvi find this ridiculous? And then the leaders call themselves janeudhari. The Congress has family first principle. They will only praise Gandhi family, Jawaharlal Nehru. Vikram lander is named after Vikram Sarabhai,” Poonawalla said.

“Had it been UPA, they would have never sent Chandrayaan 2 & 3 & if they did they would have named it Indira Point and Rajiv Point,” the BJP leader said.

What is Jawahar Point?

Jawahar Point also known as Jawahar Sthal is the region near the Shackleton Crater on the moon where Isro’s Moon Impact Probe crash landed as designed to do so. It coincided with the date November 14, the birthday of Jawaharlal Nehru and was named Jawahar Point.

What is Tiranga Point?

As PM Modi visited Isro on Saturday coming straight from his foreign trip — to meet and congratulate the Isro team which made Chandrayaan 3 a success — PM Modi made three announcements: the touchdown point of Chandrayaan 3 will be known as Shiv Shakti Point; the touchdown point of Chandrayaan 2 will be known as Tiranga Point; August 23 will be celebrated as National Space Day.