NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday claimed that India has shot down a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite.
India has become a “space superpower” with the successful testing of anti-satellite weapon, the embattled Modi further claimed in a last ditch effort ahead of crucial vote scheduled next month.
Modi said India is only the fourth nation after the US, Russia and China.
“A short while ago, India has shot down an LEO satellite by anti-satellite missile. It was conducted under Mission Shakti, which was completed in three minutes,” he said in a televised address.
The Bharatiya Janata Party is betting upon war hysteria to win the next elections. Last month, India claimed to have killed hundreds of militants in a strike in Pakistan’s Balakot area, a claim which New Delhi failed to prove.
The United States and former Soviet Union carried out their first successful anti-satellite missile tests in 1985, and China in 2007.
All are now said to be working on so-called Star Wars laser arms to destroy satellites.
With satellites increasingly important because of their intelligence gathering role -- and major nations seeking to gain a foothold in space -- the United States in 2014 rejected a Russian-Chinese proposal for a treaty to ban weapons in space, saying it was "fundamentally flawed" because of the lack of weapons verification measures.
In a statement released after Modi’s announcement, the foreign ministry said India "has no intention of entering into an arms race in outer space".
"We have always maintained that space must be used only for peaceful purposes," the ministry said.
Modi said the test did not violate any international treaties and was for the betterment and safety of India’s 1.3 billion people.
The timing of the test is critical as it coincides with the elections in which Modi is seeking a second term in office.
Voting starts April 11 and will last nearly six weeks, with close to 900 million Indians eligible to vote in the world´s largest election.
The main opposition Congress party, whose leader Rahul Gandhi is challenging Modi, congratulated scientists on their "groundbreaking achievements".
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