Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the Congress was committed to breaking the cycle of crony capitalism and ensuring a level playing field for businesses, a day after his exchange on X with US billionaire Elon Musk over Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani's influence in India.
In a post on his WhatsApp channel, Gandhi said the country needed an economy in which businesses could compete fairly, without political patronage.
“The Congress party and I are committed to breaking this chain of crony capitalism and building an economy driven by innovation and hard work -- not political patronage,” he said.
Gandhi also shared a video montage featuring his exchange with Musk, in which he said, “I am not anti-business; I am anti-monopoly.”
The exchange began after Musk questioned the delay in regulatory approvals for Starlink, his satellite internet venture, and asked whether Ambani was the “real boss of India”.
“Starlink is licensed in over 165 countries and has spent five years complying with every single law and requirement of the government of India, so why still no license?” Musk wrote on X. He followed it with the question: “Is Ambani the real boss of India?”
Responding on Thursday, Gandhi welcomed Musk to India and wrote, “Wait till you discover the other guy.” Musk thanked the Congress leader for his response, saying, “This is indeed troubling.”
The exchange came amid a debate over the regulatory clearances required for satellite-based internet services in India and allegations that domestic business interests were obstructing Starlink's entry into the market.
The Indian government has rejected the claim that the company's services were being blocked by domestic business interests.
The Centre said on Thursday that compliance with security requirements was mandatory for every satellite communications licensee and that companies must meet the prescribed conditions before launching commercial services.
The government has licensed three players in the satellite communications space: Musk's Starlink, Reliance Jio's satellite venture Jio Satcom and Bharti-backed Eutelsat OneWeb. However, licensing alone does not permit commercial operations, which remain subject to the necessary security assessments and spectrum-related approvals.
(With inputs from PTI)