NEW DELHI: Congress leader Udit Raj on Tuesday suggested that a Dalit astronaut should have been picked for the Axiom-4 mission , instead of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla.
Also Read: Group captain Shubhanshu Shukla's mother recites Sundarkand; prays for crew's safe return
"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," Raj told news agency ANI.
" 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," he added.
Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel to space. He went there in April 1984 as part of the-then Soviet Union's Interkosmos programme.
On the other hand, Shukla is India's second astronaut, and the first from the country to go International Space Station . He served as the pilot for Axiom-4, a mission organized by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX and NASA.
The mission comprised four crew members, including Shukla. The others are: Peggy Whitson (commander; United States) and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisnieski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary).
Initially scheduled for a launch on June 11, Axiom-4 faced several delays, and was finally launched on June 25.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will re-enter Earth's atmosphere, and splash down 3:01 pm (Indian Standard Time) on Tuesday.
Also Read: Group captain Shubhanshu Shukla's mother recites Sundarkand; prays for crew's safe return
"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," Raj told news agency ANI.
" 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," he added.
#WATCH | Axiom 4 Mission | On the return of Group Captain Shubhanshu Shukla and the crew today, Congress leader Udit Raj says, "... 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… pic.twitter.com/iPCAfdt7iQ
— ANI (@ANI) July 15, 2025
Wing Commander Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian to travel to space. He went there in April 1984 as part of the-then Soviet Union's Interkosmos programme.
On the other hand, Shukla is India's second astronaut, and the first from the country to go International Space Station . He served as the pilot for Axiom-4, a mission organized by Axiom Space in partnership with SpaceX and NASA.
The mission comprised four crew members, including Shukla. The others are: Peggy Whitson (commander; United States) and mission specialists Slawosz Uznanski-Wisnieski (Poland) and Tibor Kapu (Hungary).
Initially scheduled for a launch on June 11, Axiom-4 faced several delays, and was finally launched on June 25.
The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft will re-enter Earth's atmosphere, and splash down 3:01 pm (Indian Standard Time) on Tuesday.
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