Elon Musk has questioned the delay in granting Starlink permission to begin commercial operations in India, asking whether Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani was influencing the decision. The Indian government has rejected allegations of discrimination, stating that all satellite communication companies must meet the same regulatory and security requirements.

In a post on X, Musk said Starlink was licensed in more than 165 countries and had spent five years complying with Indian laws and government requirements. “So why still no license?” he asked. “Is Ambani the real boss of India?” he added.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi responded to Musk’s post, saying, “Welcome to India, Elon. Wait till you discover the other guy.” Musk replied to Gandhi, saying, “Thank you, Rahul. This is indeed troubling.”

The exchange comes as Starlink, owned by Musk’s SpaceX, awaits regulatory clearances to launch its services in India. The company has received a Global Mobile Personal Communications by Satellite (GMPCS) licence from the government. However, it still needs security clearance and spectrum assignment before it can begin commercial operations.

In a statement issued on Thursday, the Ministry of Communications rejected claims that India’s regulatory framework was discriminatory.

“A post is being circulated on social media regarding the fairness of India’s regulatory framework for satellite communication services and suggesting that it is being applied in a discriminatory manner. The Government has put in place a fair and non-discriminatory authorisation framework for all telecommunication services, including satellite communication services,” the ministry said.

It added that the government had granted telecom licences to three companies offering GMPCS services through non-geosynchronous satellite orbits. These are Starlink, Eutelsat OneWeb, backed by Bharti Airtel, and Jio Satellite Communications.

The ministry said all three companies must meet security conditions under their licences to protect users and their data. It also clarified that the ministry is conducting security assessments for each licensee.

“Security assessment as part of this process is currently under way in respect of all three licensees,” the ministry said, adding that the companies were at “broadly the same regulatory stage”.

The statement did not name Musk or Ambani and did not directly address the allegation against the Reliance Industries chairman.

Musk’s latest remarks followed another post on Wednesday, in which he alleged that “certain oligarchs” were trying to block Starlink to protect their “monopolistic chokehold on the Indian people”. “You can guess who they are … This is a crime against the people of India!” he said, responding to a post urging India to allow Starlink to launch its services.

Meanwhile, Starlink vice-president Lauren Dreyer said at the India Mobile Congress on Wednesday that the company had built its operations around India’s security requirements. She said it had established 20 gateway sites with hundreds of antennas.

“We are ready to serve in India, once India is ready,” Dreyer said.

Starlink has also partnered with Bharti Airtel to explore offering satellite internet services to Indian consumers and businesses, as well as connecting rural communities, schools and health centres.