‘Anti-monopoly’: Rahul seeks level playing field; Musk exchange in focus

Rahul said that each business has a role to play in the Indian economy and thus a level playing field needs to be ensured.

NEW DELHI: Congress leader and leader of opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has renewed his criticism of India’s corporate landscape. In his statement, he emphasised that his political stance is strictly directed against market monopolies rather than businesses themselves.The official Congress social media handles released a video featuring clips of Rahul Gandhi alongside highlighted posts of his recent public exchange with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. The party captioned the clip, “India needs a level playing field where every business has a fair chance to compete.”In the shared video statement, Rahul reiterated his position on corporate concentration and economic structure. He said, “I’m not anti-business, I’m anti-monopoly.”He further elaborated on his stance as he said, “Today, the line that Indian business is standing on is completely monopolised. We don’t want an environment where the government is aligned completely with one business. We want a government to step back, be fair, and let all businesses play.”Rahul said that each business has a role to play in the Indian economy and thus a level playing field needs to be ensured. He said, “Large monopolists have a role, small and medium businesses have a role, but what we need is a fair playing field. The Congress party and I are committed to helping develop that playing field. I’ve never been anti-business. I am anti-monopoly, anti-creating oligopolies, and anti-domination of business by one, two, three, or five people.“

Rahul’s exchange with Elon Musk

Rahul Gandhi’s comments follow an online interaction on social media platform X with Elon Musk regarding Starlink’s commercial operations in India.Musk had publicly questioned delays surrounding Starlink’s license application in the country, writing, “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? Is Ambani the real boss of India?”Responding to Musk’s post, Rahul said, “Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy.”Musk subsequently replied to him stating, “Thank you, Rahul. This is indeed troubling.” Musk also separately stated that satellite connectivity in India was being hindered by “certain oligarchs” looking to preserve market control.

Government response

The government rejected claims of unfair practice or discriminatory licensing procedures regarding satellite communication services.The ministry of communications issued a statement confirming that three satellite communication operators are currently being processed under the regulatory framework and remain at equivalent stages of evaluation.The ministry noted that security assessments are actively underway for all applicants, and that spectrum assignment can only proceed once mandatory regulatory and national security compliance checks are fully satisfied. Calling allegations of market bias “baseless and misconceived,” the government maintained that all regulatory requirements apply uniformly across all prospective operators.