All-party meet: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju, on 25 March, said the Centre addressed all concerns raised by opposition parties during a high-level all-party meeting convened amid rising global tensions affecting energy supplies due to the US-Iran war.
The opposition leaders appreciated the initiative to call the meeting at a critical juncture, the Minister told reporters after the meeting, chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
Rijiju said the Union government provided detailed clarifications on key issues, including India’s preparedness to deal with disruptions in oil and gas supply routes.
“All queries and confusion were clearly explained by the government,” Rijiju said, adding that opposition leaders appreciated the initiative to call the meeting at a critical juncture.
Rajnath chaired the meeting Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the meeting that began 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 Secretary Vikram Misri are attending the meeting.
Misri gave a detailed presentation during the meeting. Leaders from other parties, including Sasmit Patra (BJD), Lallan Singh (JDU), Mukul Wasnik, and Tariq Anwar, Dharmendra Yadav from SP, and John Brittas from CPIM, have also arrived, the agency said.
According to Rijiju, leaders across party lines acknowledged the gravity of the situation and emphasised 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 stand together,” he noted.
‘Parties told no need to panic’ News agency PTI said that the government told the parties during the meeting that its priority is the security of the diaspora and the domestic energy needs. The government also told parties there was no need for panic and that there was enough crude and gas, with more on the way.
Many members wanted details on the gas and petroleum supply through the Strait of Hormuz, and the Minister said they were satisfied that India had already secured four ships. "So the opposition members were satisfied with the effort made by the government," he said.
The meeting comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia, which have disrupted critical maritime corridors and raised concerns about the safety of Indian nationals in Gulf nations.
The 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, PM Modi said the government has constituted seven empowered groups to develop strategies on fuel, supply chains and fertilisers, among others, to mitigate the impact of the Iran-Israel-US conflict.
Congress calls it unsatisfactory Congress Member of Parliament Tariq Anwar, who was part of the all-party meeting, seemed unhappy at its conclusion. “The meeting was unsatisfactory and opposition’s primary demand is for debate in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on West Asia situation," Anwar was quoted as saying by the Indian Express.
Anwar is learnt to have mentioned during the meeting that Pakistan is performing the mediator's role in the US-Iran war, while India still continues to be a mute spectator. Samajwadi Party MP Dharmendra Yadav agreed with Anwar and called the meeting unsatisfactory.
“In the meeting, opposition parties have raised questions. No specific, satisfactory answers to the opposition's questions have been given by the government... The Samajwadi Party has raised all issues in the national interest, which included questions on the country's honour and the shortage of LPG,” Yadav told news agency ANI.
The conflict in West Asia has entered its fourth week, disrupting trade routes through the Strait of Hormuz. Tensions escalated following the killing of 86-year-old Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in joint military strikes by the US and Israel on 28 February.
In retaliation, Iran targeted Israeli and US assets across several Gulf countries, causing further disruptions to the waterway and impacting international energy markets as well as global economic stability.
The opposition’s primary demand is for debate in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha on West Asia situation.
“See, the government is saying that there is no crisis of oil and gas, the minister said that if there is such anissue regarding the gas, people should complain, and that they would act against it. Secondly, they said that LPG is being produced 60 pc domestically,” Sanjay Singh of the Aam Aadmi Party said.
“We asked what was the need to visit Israel two days prior, many asked when we had a friendly relations with Iran, what was the need to make the relation acerbic, the government knew that 70 pc of the energy needs are fulfilled by supplies from Strait of Hormuz, then what was the need to become a party, they answered,” he told news agency PTI.