A senior minister in the Narendra Modi-led administration pushed back on opposition leader Rahul Gandhi’s comments on social media suggesting the government’s involvement in a power struggle at the $185 billion Tata Group.

The Indian National Congress leader accused the government of allowing the 158-year-old conglomerate to be “criminally destroyed,” questioning why senior company executives met a senior minister at his residence last year. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman hit back, accusing Gandhi of politicizing a corporate and legal dispute.

The conglomerate has now been drawn into a political slugfest as an internal power struggle pits Tata Sons Pvt., the group’s holding company led by Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, against Tata Trusts, its 66% shareholder helmed by Noel Tata. The conflict centers on Chandrasekaran’s reappointment and broader questions over governance and whether Tata Sons should list on the stock market.

“Tata is being criminally destroyed, and no business leader dares say a word,” Gandhi said in an X post, alleging that the government was meddling in the internal affairs of the group at a time it was going through an intense power strife that risks spilling into Indian courtrooms. Tata Sons and Tata Trusts didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Sitharaman joins a string of senior ruling party ministers seeking to counter Gandhi as his confrontations with the government intensify. The opposition leader is spearheading protests against the Election Commission over its contentious review of voter rolls, an issue that has given India’s opposition a rare opportunity to unite. Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal has also publicly challenged Gandhi’s allegations against the poll body in recent weeks.

Gandhi has for years made the government’s relationship with India’s richest businessmen a central line of attack against Modi. In a February 2023 speech in Parliament, he questioned the rapid rise of Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group, and alleged that Modi had helped the billionaire’s businesses — allegations the government rejected. Gandhi broadened those attacks to include Reliance Industries Ltd. Chairman Mukesh Ambani during the 2024 national election.

The exchange has pushed what had largely been an internal corporate battle into a test of the government’s relationship with one of the country’s biggest business houses. It could also potentially complicate efforts to resolve the leadership standoff at the Tatas.

“The concern is not that the government should have no role in regulating businesses, but that regulatory decisions must remain transparent, consistent and independent of political considerations,” said Sonam Chandwani, managing partner at KS Legal & Associates. “Equally, allegations of political interference must be supported by evidence rather than rhetoric.”Under Chandrasekaran, who has led the group since 2017, Tata Group has increasingly aligned its expansion with the Modi government’s push to build India into a global manufacturing hub, becoming a key supplier to Apple Inc. and an iPhone maker while investing heavily in semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, renewable energy and defense manufacturing.

Chandrasekaran was reappointed for five years in September despite objections from Noel, who later questioned the process.

The tensions also extend to whether Tata Sons should go public after the Reserve Bank of India classified it as an upper-layer non-banking financial company, leaving it subject to listing requirements. Noel opposes a listing, arguing it could weaken the group’s charitable ownership structure.