New Delhi: Amid the alleged nationwide LPG shortage following the ongoing conflict in West Asia, senior Congress leader Pawan Khera on Monday said this is a disaster created by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Questioning the BJP government’s foreign policy at the center, he alleged that the Prime Minister is being compromised, and the people of the country are paying the price. At a press conference, Khera, chairman of the Congress’s media and publicity department, said, “Narendra Modi should have condemned the outbreak of war in West Asia, but he didn’t. Even the assassination of (Iran’s Supreme Leader) Ayatollah Khamenei didn’t elicit a single word of condolence from Narendra Modi.”
Accusing the Prime Minister of compromising, he said, “If Narendra Modi had stood up straight instead of bowing down, he would have condemned this and expressed regret. He would have respected the honorable foreign policy of a civilized country. But Narendra Modi’s cowardice has put the entire country in jeopardy. The route (Strait of Hormuz), from where 85 percent of the gas used to come, has been completely closed.” He said that in such a situation, the entire country wants to know what secrets Modi has with America, due to which he has stopped even thinking about the country’s interests. Kheda said, “On one hand, Sri Lanka looks America in the eye and says, ‘We will not let you use our base.’ But Narendra Modi cannot muster the courage to say anything.”
Attacking the Prime Minister, he further said, “Narendra Modi should answer why he compromised the country’s interests. The Strait of Hormuz remained open without any hindrance for Russian and Chinese ships, but it remained open for India.”
He questioned the Prime Minister, “We’re not asking Iran to bend too much. We’re simply asking them to adhere to a rules-based system; this is what all responsible, sensible countries do. India has always done this. Why didn’t you do the same? Under what pressure?”
Referring to reports of the LPG crisis, Kheda said, “This is a crisis created by Modi. We wouldn’t have reached this situation where, because of this crisis, 110 million children in 103.5 million schools will not receive mid-day meals under the PM Poshan Scheme.”
“If we had criticized and condemned this illegal war waged by Israel and the United States against Iran, if we had insisted that the world follow a rules-based system, this situation would not have arisen.” The Congress leader said, “If we act responsibly now as the Chairman of BRICS, but PM Modi doesn’t have the courage to stand up; he is compromised.”
Kheda said that if the government had acted like responsible countries, India could have avoided this war in West Asia. The Congress leader said, “We repeatedly reminded Narendra Modi of his ‘rajdharma,’ but he ignored it. People are paying the price today.”
