Kolkata: In what appeared to be a major goof-up of mythology with science, West Bengal governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday noted that the Mahabharata’s key character Arjuna’s arrows were fitted with “nuclear power” for which the world cannot ignore India any more. He also claimed that Sanjay, another character of the great Indian epic, spoke about the existence of “flying saucers” during the time of the Ramayana.

“The plane was invented in 1910-11, but there is a reference of the flying saucers in the Ramayana. In the Mahabharata, we had a situation where even Sanjay had narrated about it but not from the ground. Also we had those arrows of Arjuna which had nuclear power. So the world can no longer afford to ignore India. It cannot,” the governor said in his address at the inauguration of 45th Eastern India Science Fair in the city.

His observations earned him sharp criticism from the scientists’ fraternity. Former director of Saha Institute of Nuclear Physics Prof Bikas Sinha wondered whether the governor has lost his mental balance. He also bantered that Mr Dhankhar would find next that Lord Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra might have had the hydrogen bomb also.

“It seems that the governor has a mental problem. He has been making such remarks that often anger people. It is a very dangerous trend. I guess some day he will say Krishna’s Chakra had hydrogen bomb. Science and mythology must not be confused on the pretext of mere imagination. Such comments mean that we knew everything and nothing is happening now. If this is so then we have to stay with the past only,” he said.

Slaming Mr Dhankhar, Prof Sinha added, “Someone should request him to calm down. The governor must guard the sanctity of his post.”

Mr Dhankhar however did not miss an opportunity later to train guns on chief minister Mamata Banerjee for taking to the street to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act.

He said, “When the CM hit the streets, I did not find that she is the Trinamul Congress supremo. I hold that the CM cannot do so because she has taken an oath according to the Constitution and that oath is of the CM. It binds one to work according to the Constitution. So she cannot do anything which goes against the law enacted by Parliament.”