Reconsider resignation, minister tells Roddam

BANGALORE: A day after eminent scientist Roddam Narasimha resigned from the Space Commission, upset over the ban on G Madhavan Nair and three other scientists, Minister of State V Narayansamy appealed to Narasimha to reconsider his resignation. Prof Narasimha on Thursday wrote to the Prime Minister stating that he no longer wished to be a part of the Space Commission.However, the Prime Minister had not accepted his request till Friday night.Breaking his silence through a statement on the Antrix-Devas blowout, he said that the actions taken against former chairman of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and the other scientists could demoralise the ISRO community.“The actions taken could adversely affect its (ISRO) ability to take the kind of technological initiatives — not always without risk — that are the hallmarks of an innovative organisation,” he stated. He had even stated that this move ‘would be a lesson to the scientific community’ and also that everyone would be held accountable for their actions. He also came out in defence of the barred scientists by stating that most ISRO scientists had committed their professional lives to the pursuit of the Indian space programme.“Their achievements have brought great credit to the country and their occasional failures have served to strengthen their resolve,” Prof Narasimha said. He stated that lapses in the functioning of the space programme were identified in detail in the report prepared by him and Professor B K Chaturvedi, in which they had recommended various reforms but had stopped short of calling the deal a ‘short-charged’ spectrum sale.Explaining the other reason for his resignation, Prof Narasimha said, “It seemed most appropriate to me that the proposed reforms are carried out best by a commission of which I am no longer a member.”