New Delhi, March 14 – Union Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Kiren Rijiju, on Saturday, launched a scathing attack on the Congress for resorting to gimmicks and using old images of people waiting in LPG booking queues in their desperation to create panic amid the global fuel crisis caused by the Iran conflict.
"The Congress used a 2011 photo to spread false propaganda," Rijiju said in a post on the social media platform X, attempting to expose the Congress's attempt to pass off a 2011 photo of people waiting in an LPG cylinder booking queue as a recent one.
Accusing the ruling party of using fake information to portray the Union government in a negative light, the Union Minister stated, "The Congress Party should not brazenly insult itself."
He shared an image used in a Congress social media post, juxtaposing the old picture of people waiting in queues with LPG cylinders with the 2011 digital article in which the photo of the "long LPG booking queue" was used.
Reassuring people about the continued availability of LPG and fuels, Union Minister Rijiju wrote, "Now, our country is being led under the guidance of the strong and visionary Prime Minister, Narendra Modi."
Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson and the party's National IT Cell Incharge, Amit Malviya, shared a list of G20 nations and their respective petrol price increases following the Iran conflict.
The list indicated that petrol prices in India have remained unchanged, while the highest increase of 22 per cent has been recorded in the US, compared to prices on February 1 and March 12, 2026.
Highlighting PM Modi's achievement in managing fuel supplies during the conflict, Malviya indicated that only Saudi Arabia and Indonesia have seen no increase in petrol prices in the wake of the Gulf developments.
Malviya's list also indicated that petrol prices in Russia have marginally decreased since February 1.
Earlier in the day, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated India's call for de-escalation in the ongoing regional conflict, while assuring that adequate supplies of crude oil, petrol, diesel, and LPG are available in the country.
The Union government also stated that efforts are underway to safeguard maritime operations and repatriate Indian seafarers from the affected region.