BJP claims ₹26 cr spent on Rahul’s scuba diving:Cong calls Rijiju ‘defamation minister’, says he wants to divert attention from Great Nicobar Project

The political battle between the Congress and the BJP over the Great Nicobar Project has now extended to Rahul Gandhi’s scuba diving trip. Union Minister Kiren Rijiju claimed that ₹26 crore was spent on Rahul Gandhi’s scuba diving activity in the Andaman Islands. Following the statement, Congress MP Manickam Tagore hit back at Rijiju on Monday, saying that he had now taken on the role of a “minister of defamation”. Tagore alleged that the Union Minister’s remarks were not based on facts. He said the statement was either aimed at discouraging tourism in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands or diverting public attention from the questions being raised over the Great Nicobar Project. 2 pictures of Kiren Rijiju and Rahul Gandhi’s scuba diving… How the controversy escalated: a timeline What is the Great Nicobar Project? According to the Government of India, the Great Nicobar Project is a multi-purpose development initiative worth about ₹90,000 crore. It includes plans for an international transshipment port, an airport, a power plant and a new township. The government argues that the project is crucial for India’s maritime security, trade interests and Indo-Pacific strategy. The project is considered strategically important because Great Nicobar lies very close to the entry point of the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes and a critical route for global trade and energy supplies. A significant share of India’s container transshipment traffic currently passes through foreign ports such as Port of Singapore, Port of Colombo and Port Klang. The government wants a larger share of this business to be handled within India. ​