Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on Wednesday alleged that India’s energy security had been “compromised” and attributed the situation to what he described as a “flawed foreign policy”, PTI reported.
Speaking to reporters outside Parliament, Gandhi said: “The basic issue is that gas is going to be a problem, petrol is going to be a problem, all fuel is going to be a problem because our energy security has been compromised.”
He asserted that the government must start preparations immediately, warning that without action “crores of people could suffer”.
During his brief remarks in the Lok Sabha later, Gandhi raised questions about the country’s energy security and asserted that a nation as large as India should be able to decide its relationships with oil and gas suppliers on its own.
He accused the government of “bartering” with India’s energy security and asked why the United States had been allowed “to decide who we buy oil from, who we buy gas from, and whether we can buy oil from Russia or not”.
Gandhi was referring to the US on March 5 granting India a 30-day waiver to accept Russian oil already on ships at sea.
Petroleum and Natural Gas Minister Hardeep Singh Puri responded to Gandhi by saying that for the first time in recorded history, the Strait of Hormuz had been effectively closed to commercial shipping.
“India has to navigate through its consequences” despite not having any role in the conflict, he told the Lok Sabha.
Puri said that India had responded to the situation better than other countries in the neighbourhood.
The minister added that India’s crude oil supply position was secure and insisted that there was shortage of petrol, diesel, kerosene and aviation turbine fuel. “Retail outlets across the country are stocked and supply chains for these products are functioning normally,” he told Parliament.
The natural gas supply has been managed to prioritise allocation, he said, reiterating comments made by the ministry on Wednesday.
The domestic production of liquefied petroleum gas had increased by 28% in the last five days, Puri said in Parliament.
“Field reports indicate hoarding and panic booking at the distributor and retail level driven by consumer anxiety rather than any actual supply shortage,” he added.
The escalating tensions have raised fears of disruption to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz. The narrow waterbody connects the Gulf to the Arabian Sea. About 20% of the global petroleum supply passes through the maritime chokepoint.
The conflict has caused the “largest supply disruption in the history of the global oil market”, the International Energy Agency said on Thursday.
The waiver granted by Washington followed earlier tensions between the US and India over New Delhi’s purchases of Russian crude oil.
The Trump administration had in August imposed a punitive levy on India for buying oil from Russia amid the Ukraine war. This had taken the combined US tariff rate to 50%.
On February 7, Trump issued an executive order to remove the additional 25% punitive tariff on imports from India over New Delhi’s purchase of Russian oil. This brought the effective US tariff rate on Indian imports to 18% after the interim trade deal was agreed to.
Assam Police warns against fuel shortage rumours
The Assam Police on Thursday warned that legal action will be taken against persons spreading rumours about shortages of liquefied petroleum gas and other petroleum products.
“Citizens are advised not to believe or forward such any misleading claims that may be spread by inimical elements to try and create confusion,” the police said.
Also read: Modi’s ‘capitulation certificate’: Congress on US saying it ‘permitted’ India to import Russian oil
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