'Hanuman first space traveller' remarks assault on rational thought: CPI(M)

New Delhi, Aug 26 (PTI)  BJP leader Anurag Thakur's remarks that Hindu god Hanuman might have been the first space traveller is an assault on rational thought, Communist Party of India (Marxist) General Secretary MA Baby said on Tuesday.  Taking to X, the CPI(M) leader said the BJP leader was "mocking science", and said India needs to invest in research, not "anti-science theatrics".

"BJP leaders like Anurag Thakur are mocking science! Even in the myth, Hanuman travelled through the atmosphere, not space," Baby said in a post on X.

"His exhortation to students is indeed a betrayal of the scientific temper enshrined in our Constitution," he said.  "This assault on rational thought insults our students and scientists alike. India needs investment in research & education - not anti-science theatrics," the CPI(M) leader said, adding a hashtag "defend science" to his post.

Senior BJP leader Anurag Thakur told students at a school event in Himachal Pradesh that Lord Hanuman might have been the first space traveller.

The former Union minister made these remarks while addressing a National Space Day event at Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Pekhubela in Una district.

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961, became the first person to travel to space.

In a video clip of his interaction with the students shared on X, Thakur can be seen asking the students, "Antriksh main yatra karne wala pehla kaun tha? (Who was the first one to travel into space?)". Some students reply, "Neil Armstrong." To this, the five-time Hamirpur MP replied, “I think it was Hanuman ji." PTI AO AO SKY SKY