World Environment Day: LOP Rahul Gandhi Asserts Great Nicobar Project Is Not About Defence.

New Delhi; June 2026: Today on 05th June 2026, as the World commemorates ‘Environment Day’; Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi has called out the Modi government’s lie in pitching the Great Nicobar Island Project for defence reasons and a transhipment port. He alleged that it is actually about helping one businessman build hotels and casinos on India’s most irreplaceable ecological land.

The Congress leader 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 the last 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 uprooted; Coral reefs erased from official maps; Soldiers and tribals displaced; so that one business house 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, has been seeking for expansion for five years. “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 transhipment 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, 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.

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, has been seeking for expansion for five years.

“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 transhipment 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 03 lakh rupees and fund your little real estate”, Gandhi alleges.

“So, every single BJP person who is spreading this is trying to protect Mr. Adani, his interests and his link with the PM Narendra Modi”, Rahul Gandhi said.

Team Maverick.