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Congress MP and General Secretary Jairam Ramesh on Thursday expressed concern over the rapid announcement of partnerships between India's leading telecom giants, Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel, with Elon Musk's Starlink.
Speaking on the development, Ramesh alleged that the deals, announced within a 12-hour span, were orchestrated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi through Musk to "buy peace" with former U.S. President Donald Trump. Ramesh highlighted that both Jio and Airtel had previously opposed Starlink's entry into India, citing its preference for spectrum allocation over the auction process, which has been the Government of India's policy since 2014. "Both these companies had been opposing Starlink's entry on the grounds that Starlink wanted the allocation of spectrum when they wanted it auctioned. Now, within 12 hours, they've described it as a win-win situation," he said. The Congress leader further claimed that Jio and Airtel's sudden shift in stance was a strategic move by the Prime Minister to strengthen ties with Trump. "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," Ramesh asserted. He pointed to Trump's recent statements about India reducing tariffs and import duties, suggesting a lack of transparency on what India has agreed to in its dealings with the U.S. "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 been agreed on. But clearly, this is a friendship-buying move," said a Congress leader. The Congress leader also raised security concerns questioning the Government on who will have power to switich connectivity on or off. "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? And, of course, the much larger question of Tesla manufacturing in India remains. Is there some commitment to it now that Starlink's entry into India has been facilitated?" he posted on X. The partnerships between Jio, Airtel, and Starlink, announced on March 11 and 12, respectively, aim to bring satellite-based internet services to India, pending regulatory approvals. (ANI)
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