Congress Leader Udit Raj Sparks Debate Over Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla's Axiom 4 Mission Selection

By A Staff Reporter

New Delhi: As Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla returned to India following the successful completion of the Axiom 4 space mission, political discourse took a contentious turn after Congress leader Udit Raj made remarks suggesting caste-based factors should have influenced the astronaut selection.

Speaking to the media on Monday, Udit Raj said, “When Rakesh Sharma was sent earlier, the SC, ST, OBC people were not that educated. This time, I think it was the turn to send a Dalit… It is not that NASA conducted an exam, and then there was a selection. Any Dalit or OBC could have been sent in place of Shukla ji…”