NEW DELHI, March 23: The Congress on Monday suggested that India lead peace talks in West Asia, and also called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi to inform citizens about the steps being taken to tackle LPG shortage and rising inflation in the country.
Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said Prime Minister Modi should have spoken earlier.
“We don’t have any expectations. I want to hear what he has to say. There are many issues. The fallout of the war on our country is hugeâ?¦ LPG and many other issues. He should have spoken much earlier,” she told reporters in the Parliament House complex.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Modi on Monday afternoon addressed the Lok Sabha on the West Asia crisis, and termed the prevailing situation “worrisome” as it is having a very adverse impact on the global economy and the livelihoods of people.
Earlier, Congress MP Rajiv Shukla said the party expects efforts towards ending the conflict.
“The war is directly harming India. It must stop. We are facing a shortage of cooking gas, while diesel prices may also increaseâ?¦ It has already gone up by Rs 21.
“Our foreign policy was neutral earlier. We were not aligned with anyone, so everyone stood with us. Now, by moving closer to Israel, that balance seems to have been affected. We should maintain good relations with all countries, including Iran, as we did earlier.
“Also, cylinders were provided to households under the Ujjwala scheme, but today many of them are lying empty. What is the benefit of the scheme? People are left with no option but to return to ‘chulhas’, as gas is not available,” Shukla said.
Congress MP Tariq Anwar said the prime minister should have addressed the issue earlier. Congress MP Manish Tiwari warned that the escalating hostilities in West Asia could disrupt global supply chains and impact essential commodities.
“There has been an escalation since Sunday to an unprecedented level. Iranians have ostensibly attempted to hit the Israeli nuclear research reactor. President (Donald) Trump has issued a warning which is going to expire this evening. So, the conflict has perhaps entered its most dangerous phase,” Tiwari said.
The Chandigarh MP also claimed that around 3,000 ships are currently idling in the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, indicating a major disruption in maritime movement.“There is a need to give diplomacy a chance. For the consumers, the criticality of the situation only gets more dire every moment because it is not only about crude oil, but also about fertiliser, food, pharmaceuticals and essential life-saving drugs,” he said.
“So, there is a whole supply chain which has been disrupted. We have entered a very sensitive phase in this conflict after three weeks of hostilities,” he added. (PTI)
