Starlink In India Row: Minister of Information and Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw came under fire on Thursday after deleting an X post (tweet), in which he welcomed billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink to India. Vaishna's tweet was followed by the announcement by India's leading telecom firms - Airtel and Jio - that they struck a deal with Starlink. Now, the entire matter took a political turn as opposition leaders slammed the Union Minister. They also targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, in an X post questioned - is this the ultimate "Make in India" moment, or just "Sell to America" in disguise?
"It’s clear that India’s government is playing 4D chess with the cosmos. While the rest of us are busy paying for overpriced internet, Modi and Musk are probably sipping chai on a SpaceX rocket, plotting how to turn India into the world’s first "Wi-Fi Nation". Forget "Digital India" – this is "Starlinked India"!", the tweet read.
TMC MP alleges BJP of taking bribe
TMC Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale attacked the BJP, asking how much the saffron party got from the deal.
"𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐮𝐭! India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw tweeted saying “Starlink, welcome to India” & then DELETED his tweet. Elon Musk’s Starlink has not yet gotten govt approval. It also has not been allotted any satellite spectrum. But the tweet by @AshwiniVaishnaw CLEARLY shows that spineless PM Modi is going to bend over backwards for Trump & Elon Musk," his post read.
"The “govt approval” is clearly guaranteed. Question: How much is the BJP getting from Elon Musk? What is Modi getting in return for meekly selling out our country to the US establishment? Help with elections?," he asked.
Partnerships orchestrated by PM to buy goodwill with Trump: Congress
Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said that within literally 12 hours both Airtel and Jio have announced partnerships with Starlink, seemingly overcoming all their objections to its entry into India - which they have been voicing for quite some time.
"It is abundantly clear that these partnerships have been orchestrated by none other than the PM himself to buy goodwill with President Trump through Starlink's owner Mr. Elon Musk," Ramesh alleged.
"But many questions remain. Perhaps the most important one relates to national security. Who will have the power to switch connectivity on or off when national security demands it? Will it be Starlink or its Indian partners? Will other satellite-based connectivity providers also be permitted and on what basis?" the Congress leader said on X. And, of course, the much larger question of Tesla manufacturing in India remains, he added.
(With PTI inputs)
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