After questioning Darwin Theory, Junior Minister Satyapal Singh says 'I have PhD in Chemistry'

A day after questioning Charles Darwin’s ‘Theory of Evolution,’ Union Minister Satyapal Singh on Sunday maintained his stand and said that he was a ‘man of science.’

‘I'm not coming from Arts background... I have completed my PhD in Chemistry from Delhi University,’ Singh told news channel NDTV.

Singh’s Darwin remark sparked major controversy as many people took to Twitter for slmmaing the minister for his ‘unscientific approach’.

Singh had claimed that Charles Darwin's theory of evolution of man was "scientifically wrong" and it needs to be changed in school and college curriculum.

The Minister of State for Human Resource Development said, ‘our ancestors have nowhere mentioned that they saw an ape turning into a man.’

"Darwin's theory (of evolution of humans) is scientifically wrong. It needs to change in school and college curriculum. Since the man is seen on Earth he has always been a man," he said while speaking to reporters on Saturday.

The IPS officer-turned-politician was in this central Maharashtra city to attend the 'All India Vaidik Sammelan.' "Nobody, including our ancestors, in written or oral, have said they saw an ape turning into a man," he said.

"No books we have read or the tales told to us by our grandparents had such a mention," the minister added.

Darwinism is a theory of biological evolution that states that all species of organisms arise and develop through the natural selection of small, inherited variations that increase the individual's ability to compete, survive, and reproduce.

It was developed by Darwin, a 19th century English naturalist, and others.

It is not the first time Singh has made a controversial statement. In September last year, Singh had said that engineering students should to learn about Vishwakarma, a Hindu deity, worshipped by craftsmen and engineer community and the first Indian who flew an airplane, alongwith Wright Brothers, in their institutes.

"When students in India are taught about the invention of airplanes, they are taught that Wright Brothers invented the plane in 1903 but how many of them know that before Wright Brothers, first plane was invented by an Indian Shivakar Babuji Talpade in the year 1895? Are students taught these things at IITs or engineering institutes? They are not, but they should be," Singh had said.

He added that along with the Wright Brothers, students should be taught about Talpade and Pushpak Viman, which is a flying chariot described in Hindu texts.

"We are currently lagging behind in research and innovation. Our researchers need to be told about our rich culture and our civilization which dates back many thousands of years. We have seen such amazing examples of scientific inventions in the past, we should learn from them," he had said at an award function organised by All India Council for Technical Education.