New Delhi : The BJP on Monday hit back at the Congress over its criticism of the Rs 72,000-crore Great Nicobar Island Project, with party spokesperson Anil K Antony accusing Rahul Gandhi of undermining India’s strategic interests in the Indo-Pacific.
Congress leader AK Antony, said the islands lie less than 150 miles from Indonesia, near the western entrance to the Malacca Strait — one of the world’s most crucial maritime chokepoints. Great Nicobar Islands are located less than 150 miles from Indonesia, situated near the western entrance to the Malacca Strait, a vital maritime trade route and world’s most delicate chokepoint, making it a critical asset for India’s naval capabilities, power projection, strategic calculus and operations in the Indo-Pacific.
The Great Nicobar Island Project is a flagship government plan to transform the island with a transshipment port, an international airport, a power plant, and a modern township, combining development with strategic positioning. Anik K Antony’s remarks came days after Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson Sonia Gandhi’s strong editorial against the project, which Rahul Gandhi amplified on X. Calling it a ‘misadventure’, Rahul Gandhi said the plan tramples on tribal rights and flouts legal safeguards.
The Great Nicobar Island Project is a misadventure, trampling on tribal rights and making a mockery of legal and deliberative processes. Through this article, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Smt. Sonia Gandhi highlights the injustices inflicted on the people of the Nicobars and their delicate ecosystem by this project. Must read, Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.
There has been no shortage of half-baked and ill-conceived policymaking in the last 11 years. The totally misplaced Rs 72,000 crore expenditure poses an existential danger to the island’s indigenous tribal communities, threatens one of the world’s most unique flora and fauna ecosystems, and is highly susceptible to natural disasters, Sonia Gandhi said.
Read Also : PM Modi Casts His Vote For Vice President Election, Leaves For Himachal Pradesh, Punjab
