India's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) clarified on Saturday that the recent call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump was only between the two of them and Tesla CEO Elon Musk did not join in, thus refuting claims regarding the same made by the New York Times.
The MEA released a statement on Saturday saying, "We have seen the story. The telephone conversation on 24 March was between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Donald Trump only. As has been stated earlier, it provided the opportunity for exchange of views on the situation in West Asia."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said regarding the call between the two leaders, "President Trump has a great relationship with Prime Minister Modi, and this was a productive conversation," as per an ANI report.
The NYT, in its report where it claimed Musk joined the call between the two leaders, said they were informed of the same by two US officials familiar with the matter and asked for anonymity from the outlet since they were not authorised to speak about the call.
What did Modi say regarding the call? In the call between Modi and Trump, the leaders of the world's two biggest democracies discussed the ongoing West Asia conflict and the importance of keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, as per social media posts by Sergio Gor, the US Ambassador to India.
This was the first time Modi and Trump spoke directly since the US and Israel's co-ordinated attack on Iran began on 28 February.
"India supports de-escalation and restoration of peace at the earliest. Ensuring that the Strait of Hormuz remains open, secure and accessible is essential for the whole world," Modi said in a social media post.
From shipping and gas supplies to air travel, the West Asia conflict has severely affected operations in the Strait of Hormuz, from where around 40% of India's crude imports pass.
On Monday, Modi told the parliament that India is facing unprecedented challenges due to the Strait of Hormuz crisis, but the fundamentals of India's economy are strong, and that there is enough availability of fertilisers, petroleum, and coal in order to weather through the energy and trade disruptions.
Sibal slams Modi govt amid West Asia Crisis Senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP Kapil Sibal, meanwhile, has slammed the Modi government, claiming in a press conference on Saturday that it is India which is suffering the most since the war began.
"This morning I asked myself the question as to who has suffered the most and is likely to suffer the most due to the US-Israel and Iran conflict. I came to the conclusion that it is India," Sibal said in the presser at New Delhi.
He pointed out that while Russia has enormous oil reserves, China gets only 20 per cent of its imports through the Strait of Hormuz.
"As far as India is concerned, it imports about 88.6 per cent of crude oil. China also has large imports, but they get them from other sources... 50 lakh barrels of crude oil are imported by India, and about 30 lakh come from the Middle East, which is now at USD 160 per barrel, about 60 per cent more has to be paid for it," Sibal said.
"We are buying urea at a 50 per cent higher price. Then LNG, LPG, sulphur, and helium also come largely from there. Due to this, you are seeing the queues, and there will be a shortage of supply, hoarding, black marketing, which in turn would affect stagflation, there would be high interest rates, falling FDI in India," Sibal said, as per news agency PTI.
"China has strategic stocks for 120 days, Japan has strategic stocks for 208 days and South Korea for 200 days. I ask the PM, why do we have strategic stocks for just seven to eight days.
"Why didn't our country think ahead as to what will happen if Hormuz is closed...it is because you are only interested in thinking ahead when elections come, as to how you will win the elections, the nation doesn't come first for you," Sibal was quoted as saying by PTI.
"China has strategic stocks for 120 days, Japan has strategic stocks for 208 days and South Korea for 200 days. I ask the PM, why do we have strategic stocks for just seven to eight days."
Regarding Trump, he referred to the prime minister and said, "You must call US President Donald Trump and ask, 'why are you hurting us the most? We are your dearest friends. If Hormuz is closed, we will face economic distress'."
Sibal also believes that the conflict will be a prolonged one.
"It will be a prolonged conflict. Americans should have known when they got into the war. The PM must tell these facts to India. Why can't our PM tell us what happened?" he said.
"We are with the PM, but he must be with the people and clarify what the situation is and what consequences India can face due to the conflict," Sibal said.