Mumbai, March 14 Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav said on Saturday that India should have taken a stand against the ongoing US-Israel-Iran conflict, which has resulted in the deaths of several women and children and is beginning to affect India's economy.
In a pointed remark, he said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi could have become a "global leader" by sending a message of peace and preventing the war.
"There is an opportunity for the prime minister and the BJP to become a global leader… We should have taken a stand against the war. Women and children have been killed, and in India, the war is impacting our economy," he told reporters.
Yadav arrived in Mumbai to attend Iftaar (the evening meal to break the daily fast during the Islamic month of Ramadan) hosted by the party's Maharashtra unit chief, Abu Asim Azmi.
He said that sending a message of peace and stopping the war, in which many people have lost their lives, was essential.
"Energy security is linked to foreign policy," Yadav said.
Reacting to reports of people queuing up to buy LPG cylinders amid a "shortage", the SP leader said, "LPG has become 'missing' gas, which is affecting the lives of ordinary people."
Yadav accused the BJP of dividing people by spreading lies, calling it an "rumour-mongering party which can only spread lies, mislead, and indulge in conspiracy."
The conflict in West Asia has impacted the supply of crude oil and petroleum products, following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway between Iran and Oman.