Rahul meets Nicobarese community, promises to fight against infra project

Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday (April 28, 2026) visited Great Nicobar Island and met with local Nicobarese community leaders at Rajiv Nagar in Campbell Bay, who explained their concerns and fears about the Union government’s ₹92,000 crore mega infrastructure project.

Mr. Gandhi’s visit to Nicobar comes weeks after a delegation from the island visited him in New Delhi to raise their issues with the way the Union government is proceeding with the “holistic development” project, the draft master plan for which envisions it as a tourism-reliant economy by 2055.

Fulfilling a promise
Addressing the attendees at the community hall in Rajiv Nagar, Mr. Gandhi said that he had promised to visit the Island when he met with the Nicobarese delegation earlier this year and that he had come to fulfil that promise. He said, “I don’t want to say much here today. I am here to listen to you and assure you that we will do whatever we can to fight for you.”

The Congress leader added that he had made it to the Great Nicobar Island despite the local administration first refusing permission and later coming up with “excuses” to prevent him from reaching the island. Andaman and Nicobar Islands Congress in-charge, Manickam Tagore, also said in a statement on Tuesday that Mr. Gandhi’s visit to Nicobar had been possible even “after all the hurdles created by the administration under Amit Shah”.

“For the first time, tribal communities will have a direct opportunity to express their concerns, struggles, and aspirations to the Leader of Opposition. While Narendra Modi has chosen not to listen to their voices, decisions have been made to hand over precious forests and land to his corporate friend Gautam Adani,” Mr. Tagore further said.

Locals share concerns
Leaders of the Tribal Council of Little and Great Nicobar told The Hindu that they shared their anxieties about the Centre’s project, and also explained their demands to return to their ancestral lands and villages along the Great Nicobal Island’s west coast. “We were also able to show him the maps marking our ancestral villages across the island,” one leader of the tribal council said, adding that Mr. Gandhi assured them of raising their issues in Parliament as well.

Mr. Gandhi is currently on a visit to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, during which he attended a Congress meeting in Port Blair before heading to Great Nicobar Island. On Tuesday, the Leader of Opposition also visited and met with settler families on the island and families of ex-servicemen who were settled there in Gandhi Nagar. His schedule had also made room for him to pay floral tributes to former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi at Great Nicobar Island’s Indira Point.

The Union government’s project for the development of Great Nicobar Island includes the development of an international container transhipment port, an airport, and a greenfield township, projecting the creation of an economy on the island that will be primarily driven by tourism. The local administration has already issued a draft master plan for the development project and another draft plan outlining the proposed relocation of Nicobarese families. Both plans have created confusion among the locals and heightened their anxieties about losing access to their ancestral lands and forests.

Soon after the project received Stage-I clearance in 2022, the tribal council withdrew the consent for the project, and has since been alleging that their forest rights under the Forest Rights Act 2006 had not been settled and that they were being pressured to “sign surrender certificates” for their ancestral lands.

After repeated representations to the local administration, the U.T. administration, and the Union government, the tribal council leaders had also written to Mr. Gandhi about their issues, following which the Leader of Opposition had also written to the Ministry of Tribal Affairs.