‘Opposition leaders should learn from Owaisi’, says Rijiju:Union Minister calls AIMIM leader ‘sensible’ over Musk row comment

Kiren Rijiju on Saturday praised the statement made by AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi about Musk. Writing on X, Rijiju said that Owaisi sometimes makes sensible remarks on issues concerning India’s national interest. If some Opposition leaders do not want to listen to us, they should learn from Owaisi. In fact, at an event on 14 October, Owaisi said that he could have 100 differences with Narendra Modi, but he would not tolerate any insult to his country or constitutional office. He said that India was getting the cheapest data in the world and that no white man could give orders to Indians. Recently, in a post, Musk took a dig at Mukesh Ambani, referring to him as “Prime Minister Ambani”. In the post, he described Ambani as the real boss of India. Elon Musk holds Ambani responsible for Starlink delay in India Elon Musk has been voicing his displeasure over the delay in the launch of Starlink in India for the past few days. He has been blaming Reliance Industries Chairman Mukesh Ambani for the delay and has been posting against him on social media. Reliance Industries said on Friday that it was not afraid of competition. In a post on X, the company said that true competition was one that showed who was providing the best service. Who will buy ₹2,200 per month data in India? After Musk’s post, some people said that India has the world’s cheapest and fastest internet. Here, 60GB of data is available for just ₹300-400 a month, and it works excellently even in remote villages. This raises the question: if Starlink charges around ₹2,200 a month in other countries, who would buy it in India? Responding to this argument, Musk said that, on the one hand, people claim Starlink will not be able to compete with Jio’s cheap plans in India. On the other hand, they also say that Starlink’s arrival will increase competition. Both things cannot be true at the same time. The truth is that increased competition in the market always benefits ordinary customers. Starlink’s arrival may slightly reduce Ambani’s company’s profits, but it will not shut down its business. Clearly, if Starlink is too expensive in India, nobody will buy it, so SpaceX will have to keep its prices affordable to establish itself here. Government says licences granted to 3 companies, including Starlink At the India Mobile Congress 2026, Union Communications Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia clarified the government’s position. He said that three satellite internet companies had been granted licences in the country. 1. Reliance Jio Satcom 2. Bharti Airtel-supported Eutelsat OneWeb 3. Elon Musk’s Starlink However, the government also made it clear that security clearance for all these companies that have received licences is still pending. In addition, the pricing framework for satellite spectrum is being finalised. These services can begin in India only after all the necessary conditions have been met. Spectrum allocation- Satellite internet requires radio frequencies, or spectrum, to operate. The government has to decide how companies will obtain it and how much they will have to pay for it. Jio wanted the spectrum to be auctioned, while Airtel and OneWeb wanted the government to allocate it directly. Ultimately, the government chose direct allocation under the Telecommunications Act, 2023. Security and surveillance- The government also wants to ensure that Starlink complies with Indian laws. If necessary, agencies must be able to monitor the network, intercept communications or data through due legal process, and enforce security-related directives. Since data may travel differently on satellite internet than on conventional mobile networks, it is essential for the government to ensure compliance with these rules. Starlink provides internet through satellites in low Earth orbit Starlink provides internet services by deploying its satellites in low Earth orbit. Through this, it also provides internet access in remote areas where mobile networks or broadband are unavailable. The company has been trying to launch its services in India since 2021.