Rahul Gandhi calls Great Nicobar project a ‘lie’ to benefit one businessman

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday said the Modi government's argument that the Great Nicobar Island Project is about defence and a transshipment port is a "lie", and alleged that it is actually about helping one businessman build hotels and casinos on India's most irreplaceable ecological land. Gandhi released an over 16-minute video based on his visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in late April.

In his post on X along with the video, Gandhi said, "I visited the southernmost tip of India. I stood at Indira Point. I walked under trees that have stood for centuries. I dove into coral reefs among the most vibrant on earth. And I sat with the people who live there. Tribal communities, whose land is being taken away by violating the Forest Rights Act. Settlers, many of them former soldiers, placed on these islands by the Indian government, who aren't getting fair compensation." "The Modi government and BJP tells you the Great Nicobar Project is about defence. It is not," the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said. "Expand INS Baaz -we will back the government fully. The Navy has been asking for expansion for five years - it has been ignored," Gandhi said.

He said the government is telling the people that the project is about a transhipment port when it is not. India is already building one in Kerala, which is on the mainland, Gandhi pointed out. "What it actually is: 1.5 crore trees felled. Coral reefs erased from official maps. Soldiers and tribals displaced - so one businessman can build hotels and casinos on India's most irreplaceable ecological land," Gandhi alleged. "Every young Indian I have spoken to understands this. You know that no amount of profit is worth destroying what can never be recovered," he said.

Gandhi said he stands for ecologically balanced development, asserting that these islands can be the most extraordinary sustainable destination the world has ever seen. That is the India worth fighting for, he added.

In the video titled "This is what Modi doesn't want you to see", Gandhi is seen diving deep into the waters, speaking with settlers, tribal representatives and talking about his experience from the visit. "What is the plan? The plan is that you cut these thousands and thousands of trees and you illegally ship them out and you make billions and billions of dollars. And you use that money to build your hotels, your casinos and your real estate. That is what is going on," Gandhi says in the video He points out that the area that is being talked of is about four times the size of New Delhi.

The government is building this project in the most pristine ecological environment this country has, he says. "They are snatching away the land from people who were made to settle there, and they are snatching away the land from tribals," Gandhi alleges. He says that INS Baaz, which is the navy base that the Congress has built, for five years, has been asking for expansion. "If you want to make a military argument then absolutely expand INS Baaz, make it as big as you want.. by the way you don't need to cut rainforest because around INS Baaz, you have plenty of land that you can expand to," Gandhi says.

"INS Baaz is also on the coast. The point is that they want to help Mr. (Gautam) Adani and these criminals are hiding behind the Navy, behind the forces, to steal Indian land. They are saying they want to build a transshipment port but it is a non-starter as they are already building a port in Kerala, which is on the mainland so that is the first lie," Gandhi says. "The second point. Please explain to me where do hotels and rest houses come into the defence of our country, how are they co-related. The other lie that they are telling is that this forest is 145 trees per hectare, this forest has 145 trees in a few metres" he says in the video.

"The problem is you want to steal 1.5 crore trees each of which costs 3 lakh rupees and fund your little real estate," Gandhi alleges. "So don't give me this nonsense about the defence of India. Every single BJP person who is spreading this is trying to protect Mr. Adani, his interests and his link with the PM (Narendra Modi)," Gandhi says. He says INS Baaz should be given full right of expansion. "Allow them to expand as much as they want, there is no need to destroy any rain forest. You can give them the best equipment, they can scale their base up as much as they want and we will support 100 per cent. We don't want Mr Adani sitting in Nicobar Islands," Gandhi says.

Tagging Gandhi's video, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the Great Nicobar Island Project is an "ecological disaster". "Fanciful strategic reasons are now being invented for it whereas other alternatives exist. The environment & forest approvals for the project have been given on bogus grounds," Ramesh said on X.