Great Nicobar project meant to benefit Adani, it’s not about defence: Rahul Gandhi

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday, June 5, 2026, alleged that the BJP’s claim that the Great Nicobar Island project is a strategic project is a “lie” aimed at helping industrialist Gautam Adani.

On World Environment Day, Mr Gandhi launched an online petition inviting citizens to join the campaign, which reads “we choose green over greed”.

Releasing a 16-minute video based on his visit to Andaman and Nicobar Islands in April, Mr. Gandhi alleged that the Centre’s proposed mega development project in Greater Nicobar would lead to large-scale ecological destruction and displacement of local communities, while serving primarily private commercial interests. The project includes the construction of a transfer hub, an airport and a tourist town.

Mr Gandhi said: ‘The Modi government and the BJP are telling you that the Greater Nicobar project is about defence. ‘It’s not,’ he said.This is what Modi doesn’t want you to see.’. He argued that if strategic considerations were a priority, the government should expand the naval air station INS Baaz in the Nicobar Islands, a move that Congress would fully support.

“The Navy has been asking for expansion for five years. If you want to make a military argument, expand INS Baaz. There is no need to destroy rainforests for that,” he said, adding, “INS Baaz is also on the coast. The point is that they want to help Mr. 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.”

Claiming that the project was aimed at facilitating large-scale commercial development, including hotels and casinos, he said more than 1.5 crore trees, ancient rainforests and coral reefs were under threat. And the size of the area that has been talked about over and over again is the size of New Delhi.

In a post XMr. Gandhi said he visited Indira Point, interacted with settlers and tribal communities and witnessed first-hand the ecological wealth of the island. He alleged that tribal communities were deprived of their lands in violation of the Forest Rights Act and that settlers were not receiving fair compensation.

“What kind of India do you want to inherit? A place where rainforests are bulldozed for casinos, coral reefs wiped off maps, tribal communities displaced from their lands and the air we breathe turned into poison? Or a place where India’s natural heritage is protected, our tribal communities are safe and progress works with nature rather than against it,” Mr Gandhi asked, urging young people to sign his petition.

The Congress leader maintained that he was not against development but supported what he called “ecologically balanced development”. He said Greater Nicobar had the potential to become a global model for sustainable tourism and conservation.

In a separate post, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge widened the attack on the government’s environmental record, accusing the government of weakening India’s environmental governance framework and spearheading large-scale ecological degradation. Citing official figures and project clearances, Mr. Kharge claimed that around 1.92 lakh hectares of forest land has been diverted in the last 11 years and more than 1.6 crore trees have been felled since 2014.