New Delhi, January 7: K VijayRaghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, called for a complaint against Andhra University Vice-Chancellor, G Nageshwar Rao for 'pseudoscientific discourse' at Indian Science Congress. In a blog post, VijayRaghavan said a formal complaint should be lodged against the speaker and science academies of the country must voice their objection.

"It is unfortunate that sitting vice chancellor of a great State University — and a biologist to boot — says something that is scientifically completely untenable. His Chancellor should receive a formal complaint from those who were present in the audience, and he will also surely hear from individual scientists and our vocal science academies," VijayRaghavan said in his post. He also said the government has no role in deciding the speakers or the agenda of the event. Science Body Slams 'Kauravas Were Test Tube Babies' Claim.

Speaking at the Indian Science Congress in Jalandhar on Friday, Nageshwar Rao had made several “preposterous” claims: Kauravas were test-tube babies, Dashavtar gave a better logic than Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, Ravan had 24 aircraft and several airports and Ram and Vishnu used guided missiles technology. Another presenter sought to debunk Albert Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.

VijayRaghavan said the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA) does get some support from the Department of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology. "Yet (like the Indian National Science Academy, for example) the ISCA decides the agenda, the venue and selects the speakers. The government has no role whatsoever in these matters," he said.

“The Science Congress has an overall theme each year. There is a wide range of topics that are covered in the talks. A group of scientists, chosen by the ISCA, requests applications to speak and chooses speakers. Once chosen there is no censorship on what the person actually speaks,” he added.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 07, 2019 01:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).