Rahul Gandhi, Congress Protesting its stand on Sunday, it said the Center has failed to address the serious concerns raised by affected local communities, environmentalists, anthropologists, academicians and voices of civil society regarding the project. The opposition party also demanded a parliamentary debate on the issue to address transparency and security concerns.Congress leader Jairam Ramesh refuted the government’s claim that the project is a strategic initiative to strengthen India’s presence in the Andaman Sea, quoting former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash (Retd), who had argued that “the security capabilities of the ANC (Andaman and Nicobar Command) need to be addressed separately and should have no link with the development contemplated for GNI (Great Nicobar Island)”.In the four-page note, Ramesh said, “There is thus no need to conflate India’s legitimate security imperatives with the so-called ‘development project’ – with a township, high-end tourist infrastructure and a large transshipment terminal – that the Modi government is bent on dismantling…”The party alleged that the government is in “damage control mode” after the recent visit of Rahul Gandhi, leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha, to the island. Ramesh argued that the Great Nicobar ecosystem is unique and cannot be compared with other islands in the archipelago.Flagging significant concerns with respect to the Nicobari and Shompen groups, he pointed out that the Nicobari community had withdrawn its No Objection Certificate (NOC) for forest diversion in November 2022.