Full party meeting: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said on March 25 that the Center addressed all concerns raised by opposition parties during a high-level all-party meeting convened amid rising global tensions affecting energy supplies in the wake of the US-Iran war.
Opposition leaders appreciated the initiative to convene the meeting at a critical juncture, the minister told reporters after the meeting chaired by Defense Minister Rajnath Singh.
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Rijiju said the Union government has provided detailed clarifications on key issues, including India’s readiness to deal with oil and gas supply disruptions.
“All queries and confusions have been clearly explained by the government,” Rijiju said, adding that the opposition leaders appreciated the initiative to call the meeting at a critical juncture.
Rajnath presided over the meeting
Defense Minister Rajnath Singh presided over the meeting which started at 5 pm at the Parliament complex. Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri and Foreign Minister Vikram Misri.
Misri gave a detailed presentation during the meeting. Leaders from other parties including Sasmita Patra (BJD), Lallan Singh (JDU), Mukul Wasnik and Tariq Anwar, Dharmendra Yadav of SP and John Brittas of CPIM also arrived, the agency said.
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According to Rijiju, leaders across party lines recognized the gravity of the situation and stressed the need for unity.
“The opposition parties thanked the government for convening the meeting and said that in such a difficult and challenging situation, everyone must stick together,” he noted.
“The parties said there is no need to panic”
News agency PTI reported that the government told the parties during the talks that its priority was the security of the diaspora and domestic energy needs. The government also told the parties that there is no need to panic and that there is enough oil and gas, more is on the way.
Many members demanded details of gas and oil supplies through the Strait of Hormuz and the minister said they were satisfied that India had already secured four ships. “So the opposition was happy with the government’s efforts,” he said.
The meeting comes in the middle escalating tensions in West Asiawhich disrupted critical maritime corridors and raised concerns about the security of Indian citizens in the Gulf countries.
An all-party meeting follows Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s address to Parliament on the situation in West Asia. In his statement in the Rajya Sabha on Tuesday, Prime Minister Modi said the government has set up seven mandated groups to develop strategies for fuels, supply chains and fertilizers, among others, to mitigate the impact of the Iran-Israel-US conflict.
Congress found it unsatisfactory
Congress Member of Parliament Tariq Anwar, who was part of the all-party meeting, looked unhappy at its conclusion. “The meeting was unsatisfactory and the primary demand of the opposition is a debate in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the situation in West Asia,” Anwar said, according to the Indian Express.
During the meeting, Anwar learned that Pakistan was playing the role of a mediator in the US-Iran war, while India was still a mute spectator. Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav agreed with Anwar and called the meeting unsatisfactory.
“The opposition parties raised questions in the meeting. The government did not give any concrete, satisfactory answers to the opposition’s questions… The Samajwadi Party raised all issues of national interest, including questions about the country’s honor and shortage of LPG,” Yadav told news agency ANI.
The conflict in West Asia entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated after the killing of Iran’s 86-year-old supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameneiin joint US-Israeli military strikes on February 28.
In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets in several Gulf countries, causing further disruption to the waterway and affecting international energy markets as well as global economic stability.
The primary demand of the opposition is a debate in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on the situation in West Asia.
“See, the government says there is no oil and gas crisis, the minister said that if there is such a gas problem, people should complain and they would take action against it. Secondly, they said that LPG is produced 60 pc domestically,” said Aam Aadmi Party’s Sanjay Singh.
“We asked what was the need to visit Israel two days before, many asked when we had friendly relations with Iran, what was the need to make the relationship acrimonious, the government knew that 70 percent of energy needs are covered by supplies from the Strait of Hormuz, then what was the need to stand aside, they replied,” he told PTI.
