Durov Accuses Reliance, WhatsApp of BGP Hijacking, Lobbying to Ban Telegram in India

Telegram Chief Executive Officer Pavel Durov accused Reliance Group and Meta's WhatsApp of lobbying to ban his messaging platform in India and sabotaging its access for millions of users abroad, including the UAE.

News agency PTI cited a senior telecom industry source who dismissed the claims as "fake news." The official said Durov confused Reliance Communications with Reliance Industries.

The public dispute occurs amid temporary regulatory restrictions on the app within the country.

The Routing Dispute

The technical claims centre on network routing. Durov outlined the alleged interference in a social media post on X.

"Indian telecom Reliance is sabotaging access to Telegram for millions of users OUTSIDE India (including the UAE) via a rogue method called BGP hijacking. The sabotage seems intentional, as Reliance has ignored multiple reports. This may be part of a competitive war, as Reliance is partially owned by Meta, the company behind WhatsApp," Durov said.

Durov advised network operators to reject unauthorised BGP announcements from Reliance (AS18101). He said the rejection would prevent route hijacks and ensure stable Internet access for their users.

"Such abuse of global Internet routing is alarming," Durov said. "I wouldn't be surprised if Reliance/WhatsApp were also behind the recent lobbying effort to ban Telegram in India."

Reliance Communications operates subsea cables. Meta holds a minority stake in Jio, the digital arm of Reliance Industries Ltd. The two are completely separate corporate entities.

The unnamed industry source said Durov's own series of posts makes it clear that the company in question is RCom. "The allegations he is making regarding Meta, however, relate to an entirely different company -- Jio," the source reportedly said. "These are separate entities. Meta is only a minority investor in Jio and has no role in its day-to-day operations or management. Conflating the two demonstrates either a lack of understanding of the sector or a deliberate attempt to spread misinformation."

India App Ban

The accusations follow sweeping regulatory action. The Indian government ordered Google and Apple to delist Telegram from their app stores until June 22.

The delisting aims to prevent paper leaks during the National Testing Agency's NEET-UG re-examination for admission to undergraduate medical institutes, scheduled for June 21. The agency cancelled the previous exam held on May 3 amid allegations of widespread paper leaks.

Regulators issued a separate directive targeting specific app functionality. Telegram must disable its message-editing feature for already-posted messages in India until June 30. The restriction prevents users from fabricating after-the-event "paper leak" evidence in respect of national examinations.