The Trinamool Congress Party and the Congress slammed the BJP-led Centre and PM Narendra Modi after Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw deleted his ‘Welcome Starlink’ post on X. Union Minister for Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday posted a “welcome” message for Elon Musk’s Starlink, signalling an official entry of the subsidiary of Elon Musk-owned Speace X in the country. However, he deleted his post hours later.
The post came after billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Jio and telecom tycoon Sunil Bharti Mittal’s Bharti Airtel signed deals with SpaceX to bring Starlink’s broadband internet services to India.
TMC Asks How Much Was BJP Paid?
Soon after the post was deleted, Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Saket Gokhale pointed out that Elon Musk’s Starlink has not yet secured official government approval. “It also has not been allotted any satellite spectrum. But the tweet by
Ashwini Vaishnaw clearly shows that spineless PM Modi is going to bend over backwards for Trump & Elon Musk. The govt approval is clearly guaranteed [sic],” Gokhale said.
“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,” Gokhale asked.
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… pic.twitter.com/H6kBsLLjLG
— Saket Gokhale MP (@SaketGokhale) March 13, 2025
‘Partnerships Orchestrated By PM’
The Congress, too, attacked PM Modi over the now-deleted X post. “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 [sic],” Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said.
He, too, posed several questions for the BJP. “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,” Jairam Ramesh asked.
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…
— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) March 13, 2025
