India, Oct. 16 -- AIMIM chief Asaduddin Owaisi has rarely shied away from taking on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. But when Elon Musk questioned the authority behind India's decisions, the Hyderabad MP found himself challenging the BJP to stand up to the world's richest man.

The controversy began after Musk, the SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO, publicly questioned the delay in allowing Starlink, his satellite internet company, to begin commercial operations in India.

It has since taken on a political dimension, with the Opposition using the dispute to question the government's ties with big business, while Owaisi has turned it into a test of the BJP's own nationalist credentials.

Speaking to journalists in Hyderabad on Thursday (October 16),...