NEW DELHI: The Communist Party of India (Marxist) has opposed the permission given by the Government of India to Elon Musk’s Starlink to commence its operations in the country, saying Starlink’s operations would harm India’s interests in the long run.
The CPI(M) demanded that the government should immediately rescind its decision.
“There is no transparency in the entire process of how Starlink was accorded permission to operate in our country. Starlink is a foreign corporation and handing over India’s critical infrastructure to foreign hands has serious security implications. It provides a backdoor to US agencies into our telecom system and even our strategic communications,’’ the statement by the Polit Bureau of the party said here on Saturday.
The CPI(M) said the number of satellite spots, particularly Low Earth Orbit spots once allocated to Starlink cannot be taken back. “This is giving up our scarce space resources to foreign entities, in process sacrificing our country’s interests,’’ it said.
The party said if the government is really interested in developing the self-reliant capacities of our country, it could have used the services of ISRO. India, particularly DoT, C-DOT have the ability to provide the necessary equipment for the SATCOM sector. These measures would have strengthened Indian public sector and also safeguarded our security and digital sovereignty.