Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma on Wednesday claimed that journalism began during the time of the Mahabharata.

Sharma cited instances from the epic to support his claim while speaking at an event marking Hindi Journalism Day in Mathura on Wednesday, reported PTI. The minister claimed that Sanjay, the mythological character who was the charioteer of king Dhritarashtra, narrated “a bird’s eye view of the war” in Kurukshetra while sitting in Hastinapur. “If this is not live telecast, then what is it?” Sharma asked.

Sharma also equated Hindu mythological sage Narad to search engine Google. “Your Google has started now, but our Google started long time back,” he said. “Narad muni [sage] was the epitome of information. He could reach any place or transfer a message by saying ‘Narayana’ three times.”

Sharma joins a long list of Bharatiya Janata Party leaders who have claimed that technology existed in ancient India. In February, Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satyapal Singh said some Indian mantras had spoken of the laws of motion much before Isaac Newton discovered them. He had also claimed that Charles Darwin’s theory of man’s evolution is “scientifically wrong”.

The chairman of the Indian Council of Historical Research, Y Sudershan Rao, has also said that Ramayana and Mahabharata were proof that Indians were scientifically advanced.

On April 18, Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb said the narrator of Mahabharata described the battle of Kurukshtetra to the blind King Dhritarashtra through internet and technology. A few days later, he claimed the government’s achievement of sending “104 satellites a year to space” proved claims in the Mahabharata, Ramayana and Upanishads that ancient India had a developed scientific tradition. Tripura Governor Tathagata Roy had also agreed with Deb.

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani has also drawn a parallel between Google and Narad, saying the sage had the entire world’s information.