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New Delhi: With the government yet to yield on a discussion on the impact of the West Asia conflict in parliament, opposition members in the Rajya Sabha on Monday (March 16) raised questions on the impact of the rising hostilities on India’s energy security and the LPG shortage reported across the country, during the discussion on the Appropriation Bill, 2026.

Opening the debate, Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil said that the supply chain disruptions leading to the LPG shortage constituted a “man-made disaster” caused by the Narendra Modi government’s response to the conflict in West Asia.

Referring to the Rs 57,381 crore sought by the Union government for an Economic Stabilisation Fund to provide fiscal space to address global headwinds, including unanticipated supply chain disruptions, Gohil said that foreign policy is not of any party but of the country.

“This is a man-made crisis. When our Constitution was framed, it was clearly stated that India would not interfere in the affairs of any other country and would remain non-aligned. The world knows that the control of our largest supply chain lies with Iran. You knew the Strait of Hormuz was important,” said Gohil.

“We had a long-standing and good relationship with Iran, and in such serious circumstances, there was no need for the prime minister to visit Israel and speak of ‘motherland’ and ‘fatherland’. The country is suffering today. Foreign policy is not of any political party, but of the country and for the country. This is why you are seeking a Rs 58,000 crore Economic Stabilisation Fund.”

Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas said that while the Appropriation Bill’s primary purpose was to withdraw from the Consolidated Fund of India to meet expenditure, he questioned if it is not a fact that finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s calculations and the budgetary estimates have gone awry due to the headwinds from the global crisis stemming “from the immoral and illegal war in West Asia”.

Brittas said that while a COVID-19-like situation had emerged, just “banging plates” will not be the solution. Referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks in 2018 when he said that sewage drains can be used to generate gas, he said “listening to the chief scientist, hapless innocent people are putting their stoves on drains thinking they will get gas”.

“The pertinent question is, have we forfeited our right to be one of the leaders of non-aligned nations? Our silence is criminal silence. Our country was seen as cheerleaders of warmongers,” he said, questioning India’s silence on the killing of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Questioning the US announcement “allowing” India to buy Russian oil for 30 days Brittas asked if this was “facilitation or humiliation”.

“This country has been consistently humiliated by a foreign power, still we call him ‘my friend Trump’. Are we not ashamed? These extraneous factors need to be taken into consideration,” he said.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh referred to leader of the House J.P. Nadda’s remarks earlier in the Rajya Sabha – where he accused the opposition of not standing with the government during this hour of crisis – and said that the crisis was brought on by the government itself.

“This crisis has been brought by the government, not one that has just come about. The people of the country did not know, but the prime minister and external affairs minister knew that the Strait of Hormuz brings in 60% of India’s crude oil and 50% natural gas. When they know this strait is under Iran’s control, what was the need to fight with Iran?”

Singh said that Modi had lauded India’s relationship with Iran, gifted the Quran to Khamenei and invested in the Chabahar Port.

“But now the prime minister is silent on Khamenei’s death and the killing of 160 schoolchildren in Iran. The prime minister did not utter a word of condolence when an Iranian ship that was India’s guest was attacked, resulting in the deaths of Iranian sailors. This crisis therefore has been brought to India.”

Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha said that the government is in “denial mode” with regards to Indian diplomacy.

“India had a tradition of moral standing which has been torn apart. If nothing, at least the killing of Iranian children could have been condemned. The problems we are facing are of every person, every government,” he said.

Biju Janata Dal MP Sulata Deo said that the Modi government only makes people “stand in line”.

“The government made us wait in line during demonetisation, during Covid and for fertilisers, and now they are making us wait in line for gas. How long will we wait in line?” she said.

She also asked why the government has given 5,000 tonnes of diesel to Bangladesh amid an uproar from the treasury benches and said that the government has “no vision”.

BJP MP Ghanshyam Tiwari countered her, saying that during the pandemic other countries had lined up to get vaccines from India.

“What should India do when the US and Iran are fighting a war? Does India have interest in this? Modi has given the message that the answer  to all the issues is through dialogue and diplomacy. This was India’s stand during the Ukraine war and even now,” he said.

Tiwari said that it was due to Modi’s diplomacy that even amid the war two Indian ships had come through the Strait of Hormuz and three more are on the way.

“All 28 ships will return and your desire for people to come to the streets and dissatisfaction spreading will never come true. India will remain peaceful,” he said.

Earlier on Monday, the Rajya Sabha saw a heated exchange of words after leader of opposition Mallikarjun Kharge raised the LPG crisis in the country and questioned the Modi government’s preparedness while Nadda accused the opposition of trying to “spread anarchy”.

© The Wire