Arjuna's arrow had atomic power...

In the Mahabharata, Sanjaya had narrated the fierce war fought between the Kauravas and the Pandavas at Kurukshetra to Dhritarashtra, the blind Kaurava King, though he was away from the battlefield.

Dhankhar, who has been in the news for frequent face-offs with the Mamata Banerjee government ever since he assumed office in July last year, joins politicians such as Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma in giving odd interpretations to mythology.

While Deb had claimed that the internet existed during the time of Mahabharata, Sharma had suggested that Sita in the Ramayana was a test tube baby. Recently, Puducherry Lt Governor Kiran Bedi was trolled online for sharing a doctored video that claimed "NASA recorded sound of sun -- Sun chants Om".

Dhankhar's comment drew sharp reactions from both the ruling TMC and opposition CPI(M) which termed it as "insane and laughable". "Such comments are not only insane but also laughable.

According to the Constitution there are both fundamental rights and fundamental duties. One of our fundamental duties is to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform. So the comments by a person holding constitutional office is against the Constitution," TMC leader and MP Sukhendu Sekhar Ray said.

Senior CPI(M) leader Tanmoy Bhattacharya said BJP is trying to take the country "back to the middle ages". "They want to take back the country to the middle ages. This statement is not an isolated one, but a calculated move towards that objective," he added.Nuclear physicist and Padma Bhusan awardee Bikash Sinha said he is afraid that such statements can have a negative impact on the society.