The Musk trap? How Rahul Gandhi gave BJP national security, hypocrisy ammo

By wading into the Elon Musk-Starlink controversy, which touches on national security, has Rahul Gandhi handed the BJP precisely the ammunition it needed?Elon Musk and Rahul GandhiNew Delhi,Oct 9, 2026 13:32 ISTFor three days, Rahul Gandhi had seized the narrative. His impromptu protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over SIR irregularities had kept the ruling BJP on the defensive. Then came his post backing Elon Musk, who has gone on a rant over Starlink's commercial launch in India. By wading into a controversy that touches on national security, Gandhi only handed the BJP precisely the ammunition it needed.Over the past 24 hours, Musk has launched a tirade against the Centre over regulatory hurdles being faced by his satellite broadband service. What started with blaming "certain oligarchs" for "blocking" Starlink's entry in India became more pointed on Thursday as Musk directly named Reliance chairperson Mukesh Ambani."Starlink is licensed in over 165 countries and has spent five years complying with every single law and requirement of the Indian government, so why still no license? Is Ambani the real boss of India?" Musk tweeted.But what Musk seems to have overlooked is the fact that, along with Starlink, even Ambani's Jio Satellite is awaiting security clearance and final regulatory approval. Bharti Group-backed Eutelsat OneWeb is the third entity to have received a satellite communication licence. WHAT RAHUL GANDHI SAID ON ELON MUSK, STARLINK?It is then that Rahul, after another day of protest against Gyanesh Kumar, sought to intervene. "Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy," the Leader of the Opposition posted. Rahul must have sensed an opportunity to renew his crony capitalist charge against the Narendra Modi government. However, he seemed to have stepped onto ground the BJP would be happy to fight on - national security.Reacting to Musk's stinging remarks, the government clarified that all three licensed satellite communication operators were undergoing security assessments.Security is a matter where the government should not be hurried. More so after Starlink devices had been recovered by Indian agencies in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and from insurgents in Manipur. Musk, however, has consistently maintained that Starlink beams over India were switched off.BJP QUESTIONS CONGRESS'S HYPOCRISYThe BJP swiftly seized on the opening, accusing Rahul of standing against India's national interests.It has raised questions about whether Rahul inadvertently allowed a fresh controversy to dilute the momentum the Congress had painstakingly built around the CEC and SIR. Undoubtedly, visuals of Rahul and other Congress MPs being dragged and detained on Delhi's streets gave the party renewed political traction.Crucially, it also allowed the BJP to "expose" the Congress's hypocrisy on the matter. In 2025, the Congress itself vehemently raised national security concerns over Starlink's possible entry into India.Reacting to Airtel and Jio's partnerships with Starlink, Rajya Sabha MP Jairam Ramesh alleged that the agreements were orchestrated by PM Modi to "buy goodwill" with Donald Trump.Pointing to the apparent shift, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia said, "They themselves don't know whether they are going left or right. They first had a problem with a certain person getting a licence. Now, they have allied with that person in terms of why he's not getting the licence."BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari also lashed out at Rahul's double-speak. "Congress in April 2026: Govt is favouring a foreign billionaire. Congress in October 2026: Why is the govt not favouring a foreign billionaire?""In matters of India's national interest, Rahul Gandhi always chose to stand against it, and he willingly surrenders!" Bhandari said.BJP leader Jaiveer Shergill took a playful jibe at Rahul, stressing that his "Intelligence-Link" was "definitely disconnected"."Odd day: BJP govt is selling nation's interest by giving licence to Starlink. Even day: BJP govt is protecting Indian businessman by not giving licence to Starlink," Shergill said.BJP MP Tejasvi Surya pointed out that Rahul had conveniently forgotten the national security arguments his own party had raised a few months ago."When they thought the Modi government was supporting Starlink, they opposed it. Now, when they think the government is opposing it, they are supporting Starlink," Surya said.Calling Rahul 'Jaichand' (traitor), Surya castigated him for supporting a "foreign businessman" by ignoring national security."He (Rahul) seems willing to welcome a foreign businessman to challenge Indian businesses simply because he believes those businesses support Modi," the BJP MP said.CONGRESS DEFENDS RAHUL'S REMARKSDefending Rahul, Congress MP Karti Chidambaram underlined that his remarks were not in any way an endorsement of Elon Musk or the government's policy."What Rahul was saying is that India is a monopoly, if not a duopoly. While Musk named one business house, Rahul Gandhi pointedly and in a very humorous, sarcastic and subtle manner pointed out that there is another business house which has far greater influence over the government in terms of policy," Karti told ANI.This is, however, not the first time when Rahul's attempts to latch on to remarks by foreign leaders to attack the government have seemingly backfired.Last year, Rahul's endorsement of Donald Trump's "dead economy" remark for India not only invited criticism from the BJP, but also did not cut ice with Congress's allies."He (Trump) is right, everybody knows this except the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister," Rahul had said. Like Trump, he seemingly chose to ignore the fact that India is currently the world's fourth-largest economy.This was prominently used by the BJP to hit out at the Congress MP, calling his remarks an "insult" to the aspirations of the Indian people.Over the past three days, Rahul's fervent protest against CEC Gyanesh Kumar kept the heat on the ruling BJP. However, his sudden veering off course with his intervention on the Musk-Starlink issue may have inadvertently given the BJP a chance to turn the tables.- Ends