‘Barring’ Karnataka CM from receiving PM Modi at airport petty politics: Jairam

New Delhi: Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Friday took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s scheduled visit to the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) on Saturday saying that Karnataka’s Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is purportedly barred from receiving him at the airport, and “this is nothing but petulant petty politics”.

In a tweet, Ramesh, who is also the party’s communication in-charge, said: “The Prime Minister is scheduled to directly land in Bengaluru tomorrow at 6 a.m. after his latest foreign jaunt to congratulate ISRO.”

“He (Modi) is apparently so irritated with the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister of Karnataka for felicitating the scientists of ISRO before him, that he has purportedly barred the Chief Minister from receiving him at the airport, going against protocol. This is nothing but petulant petty politics,” the Congress leader said.

The Congress Rajya Sabha MP then also reminded Modi of his visit to Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad as Gujarat Chief Minister in 2008 just after the successful launch of the Chandrayaan Mission.

“Has Prime Minister Modi forgotten Chief Minister Modi’s visit to the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad on October 22, 2008 just after the successful launch of the Chandrayaan-1 at a time when Manmohan Singh was the Prime Minister?” Ramesh questioned.

His remarks came after reports suggested that the Prime Minister on Saturday will visit the ISRO Telemetry Tracking and Command Network (ISTRAC) in Bengaluru.

According to official sources, he will reach the ISRO campus at around 7.15 a.m., immediately after returning from his visit to South Africa and Greece.

PM Modi will meet the ISRO scientists involved in the Chandrayaan-3 mission and interact with them.

He will also be briefed about the findings and progress in the Chandrayaan-3 mission, sources further said.

Soon after witnessing the successful soft landing of Chandrayaan-3 mission’s soft landing on the Moon on Wednesday via video conferencing from South Africa, the Prime Minister described it as a historic moment for the whole country.