New Delhi, Mar 11: The Congress on Wednesday demanded a full-fledged discussion in Parliament on the West Asia crisis that has led to energy shortage, saying the people of the country deserve to know the truth.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge said the energy crisis is deepening in the country and people are being made to suffer the hardships.
“The Modi Government’s fake ‘source based’ assurances expose its utter incompetence. The Union Government prescient about the impending war in West Asia. Yet it did nothing to secure India’s energy supply,” he said in a post on X.
“The country deserves the truth. We demand a full discussion on this crisis in Parliament and the Prime Minister must answer the nation,” the Congress chief said.
He claimed that the farmers are first in the line to suffer as fuel shortages hit agriculture and fertilizer supply.
Rationing of LPG cylinders has begun, he said, claiming that long queues for refills are being witnessed at gas agencies.
Acute shortage of commercial cylinders – wait of up to 25 day for domestic cylinders, he said, adding that restaurants and small eateries are shutting down and hoarding and black marketing is spreading.
“60,000 tonnes of Basmati exports stuck. Wheat exports disrupted. Medicine prices likely to surge as raw material costs rise nearly 30 percent.
“Textile sector facing cascading cost pressures. Aviation fuel rising. Air travel becoming costlier. Steelmakers under severe input cost pressure.
“From ceramics and glass to FMCG and automobiles, every sector is feeling the heat. Every product likely to become costlier,” Kharge claimed in his post.
Noting that this pattern of denial is not new, he said during demonetisation, “We were told cash shortages would end in 50 days” and said people were told that the prime minister was ready for any punishment they give.
During COVID pandemic, he said, “We were told it was not a serious emergency. The nation witnessed bodies in the Ganga and catastrophic mismanagement.” On West Asia war, the Congress leader said “Now we are told India has 74 days of oil and energy stocks. Situation remains grim.” The Congress had staged a walkout in Rajya Sabha and protested in Lok Sabha on being dissatisfied with the statement of External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar in both houses of Parliament on Monday.
India on Monday advocated de-escalation of tensions in West Asia and called for dialogue and diplomacy to resolve all underlying issues, as it put the safety of around one crore Indians in the region as its top priority, along with securing energy security and trade.
The US and Israel launched a major military attack on Iran on February 28, and killed its 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The war has so far killed at least 1,230 people in Iran, 397 in Lebanon and 11 in Israel, according to officials.
Making a suo-motu statement in Parliament, Jaishankar said New Delhi stood for maintaining the sovereignty and territorial integrity of all states in the region. He defended allowing the Iranian ship to dock at an Indian port as the right decision taken on humanitarian grounds.
He said the Indian government has been constantly monitoring the evolving situation in the region at the highest level and has already brought back 67,000 stranded Indians from the conflict zone. (PTI)
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