New Delhi, March 12 Asserting that the foundation of every nation is its energy security, Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Thursday alleged that the government has "bartered" India's right to determine its relationships with different oil suppliers to the US due to a "compromise".
Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said the war between the US-Israel and Iran is going to have far-reaching consequences.
"The central artery from where 20% of global oil flows, the Strait of Hormuz, has been closed, and this is going to have tremendous repercussions, particularly for us because a very large portion of our oil and natural gas comes through the Strait of Hormuz," Gandhi said.
"The pain has just started – restaurants are closing, there is widespread panic about LPG, street vendors are affected, and as I said, this is only the beginning," the former Congress president said.
"I want to emphasize that every nation's foundation is its energy security," Gandhi asserted.
"I am not saying this lightly, but allowing the US to decide who we buy oil and gas from – whether we buy oil from Russia or not, whether our relationship with different oil suppliers can be decided by us – this is what has been bartered," the Congress leader said.
"This is a very puzzling fact for me. Why would a nation the size of India allow the president of any other nation to give us permission to buy Russian oil, to decide who our relationships are with," Gandhi said, apparently referring to the US giving a 30-day waiver to buy oil from Russia.
"This has been a puzzle, and I have been trying to figure this out. I have figured it out," he said.
"The puzzle is about compromise," he said, referring to Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri.
Gandhi then sought to link the issue of India's energy security with US Department of Justice disclosures. This evoked an uproar from the treasury benches.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla asked Gandhi to speak on the notice he has given and not deviate to other topics.
With Gandhi repeatedly asserting that what he was saying was connected with energy security, Birla asked Puri to make his statement.
