Recently, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was seen cosying up to American business tycoon Elon Musk on X, as the latter launched a tirade against the Modi government, alleging that the license for his satellite internet service, Starlink, was being deliberately stalled.
Musk’s application for a satcom license in India is currently under consideration. Starlink has already been granted a Global Mobile Personal Communication by Satellite (GMPCS) licence and is awaiting final regulatory clearances to begin its commercial operations in India.
Nonetheless, over the past couple of days, the trillionaire launched a series of attacks on the Modi government by posting messages on X, suggesting that the Indian government was acting on the directions of “oligarchs” like Indian businessman Mukesh Ambani in delaying Starlink’s license.
The mention of Mukesh Ambani, that too in a message casting aspersions on the Modi government, was enough ammunition for Rahul Gandhi, who quickly joined forces with Musk in attacking the Indian government. “Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy,” Gandhi replied to Musk.
Notably, Ambani’s Jio Satellite, along with Starlink and Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb, is also in line for security clearance and final regulatory approval. But the Congress scion is not known for caring about facts. Famous for his part-time politics, Gandhi’s political strategy is driven by convenience rather than facts. In the desperation to settle political scores with the Modi government, Gandhi forgot that he was not only contradicting facts but also his own party’s public stance on Starlink. Well, this is not the only time he has caused public humiliation for his party.
The Congress Party has been opposing Starlink’s entry into India, claiming that it was PM Modi’s strategy to buy goodwill with US President Donald Trump. Last year, speaking to the media, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh termed Starlink’s entry into India as “a friendship-buying move” by PM Modi. “The Prime Minister is clearly hoping that Mr Trump will be kept happy because we have kept Mr Musk happy…” Ramesh said.
He further cited national security concerns for opposing Starlink. The Congress Party expressing concerns over national security is rarer than spotting a mermaid in the ocean. Yet, Rahul Gandhi did not give another thought before spoiling the rare phenomenon by openly supporting Musk. This is on top of the self-goal that Gandhi scored by supporting Musk’s allegation that the Modi government was deliberately delaying Starlink’s license, while his own party earlier claimed that PM Modi was behind Starlink’s entry into India.
#WATCH | Delhi | Congress MP Jairam Ramesh says, "I was most amused actually to see that within a space of 12 hours, both two of India’s leading companies, Jio and Airtel, announcing a partnership with Starlink, a company owned by Elon Musk. And they described it as a win-win situation. Both these companies had been opposing Starlink’s entry into India on the grounds that Starlink wanted the allocation of spectrum when they wanted spectrum to be auctioned, which was the government of India’s policy since 2014… This is clearly why Airtel and Jio’s move with Starlink has been orchestrated by the prime minister to buy peace with Mr Trump through Mr Musk. Every day, Mr Trump is announcing that India is reducing its tariffs, reducing its import duties. We don’t know what the situation is, what India has agreed on, and what has not agreed. But clearly, this is a friendship-buying move. The Prime Minister is clearly hoping that Mr Trump will be kept happy because we have kept Mr Musk happy…"
— ANI (@ANI) March 13, 2025
Talking about the national security concerns linked to Starlink, these are not totally unfounded. As pointed out by former IT Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar earlier in the day, satellite communication has been used by terrorists during several terrorist attacks, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack and the Pahalgam terror attack.
Indian agencies have recovered Starlink equipment in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and from Kuki terrorists in Manipur. In November 2024, Indian authorities intercepted a Myanmar vessel near Barren Island in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, seizing a massive drug consignment alongside Starlink communication gear and navigation waypoints. A month later, in December 2024, during a search operation against Kuki terrorists in Manipur, Indian forces seized a massive cache of weapons along with Starlink equipment.
Starlink internet devices have been used in carrying out criminal and terror activities not only in India but across the world. In October 2025, security forces in Myanmar raided a Chinese-run scam centre and seized 30 Starlink satellite internet units. These were being used by the scammers for high-speed internet.
🧵Important As Elon Musk claims that ‘oligarchs’ in India are allegedly running a monopoly and blocking Starlink, read how his satellite internet system has been repeatedly used by terror outfits (1/n) https://t.co/Y68RGNK7dT
— OpIndia.com (@OpIndia_com) October 8, 2026
Islamic terror groups like Jama’at Nasr al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM), Boko Haram, and the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) actively smuggle portable Starlink satellite internet terminals across borders from Nigeria and Libya into the Sahel region, including Mali, Niger, and Burkina Faso, to enhance their operational capabilities.
In May 2023, Starlink devices were found involved in illegal mining sites in the remote regions of the Amazon in Brazil. Illegal miners were using Starlink devices to facilitate their illegal mining activities. The same year, Elon Musk triggered global concerns when he announced that he would provide Starlink internet connectivity to internationally recognised organisations in Gaza, following an internet ban imposed by Israel in the region in the aftermath of the ghastly October 7 terrorist attacks. Musk’s decision was strongly opposed by Israel, which said that the terrorist group Hamas would use this internet for its terrorist activities.
It is clear from the above-mentioned examples that the Starlink internet system has been widely used by criminals and terrorists to carry out their activities. In light of these facts, it is not unlikely that the regulatory authorities might be conducting rigorous scrutiny and exercising greater caution in granting licenses to satcom companies in India. However, one cannot expect the level of political maturity from Gandhi that requires not forsaking national interest for political opportunism.
