New Delhi: Charging the Narendra Modi government of being fearful and “adamantly refusing” a debate in both Houses of Parliament on the West Asia crisis and its severe impact on India arising from escalating energy shortage, the Congress on Thursday accused it of incompetence while claiming the government’s foreign policy “already stands brutally exposed.”
“Its (government’s) foreign policy already stands brutally exposed,” Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh asserted on X.
Along with other Opposition parties, Congress has pressed for a full-fledged discussion, insisting the people deserve to know the truth about the fallout.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge had earlier highlighted the deepening energy crisis. “The energy crisis is deepening in the country and people are being made to suffer the hardships,” he posted on X on Wednesday.
Kharge accused the government of failing despite prior warnings. “The Modi Government’s fake ‘source-based’ assurances expose its utter incompetence. The Union Government was prescient about the impending war in West Asia. Yet it did nothing to secure India’s energy supply,” he added.
Tensions peaked after the Congress staged a walkout in Rajya Sabha and protested in Lok Sabha, dissatisfied with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s statements on Monday.
Opposition leaders dismissed Jaishankar’s remarks as “vapid”, and blamed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s foreign policy “(mis)adventurism”, coupled with undermining the Indian Foreign Service, for pushing India into “vassalage.”
The crisis intensified following a major US-Israel military attack on Iran on February 28, killing the country’s 86-year-old Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
In his suo motu statement, Jaishankar prioritised de-escalation through dialogue and diplomacy to resolve underlying issues. He placed the safety of around one crore Indians in the region at the top, alongside energy security and trade.
Jaishankar revealed the government has closely monitored developments at the highest level and successfully brought back 67,000 stranded Indians from the conflict zone.
