Congress slams PM Modi for skipping West Asia meet, prioritising polls

Telangana Congress's Sama Rammohan Reddy slammed PM Modi for skipping a key all-party meeting on the West Asia conflict. Reddy alleged that for BJP leaders, winning elections remains a higher priority than addressing public grievances like LPG supplies.

Sama Rammohan Reddy, Chairman of Communication for the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee, on Thursday slammed Prime Minister Narendra Modi for skipping the all-party meeting on the West Asia conflict. Reddy also criticised the Prime Minister for allegedly avoiding discussion on the crisis's impact on LPG supplies, asserting that for BJP leaders, winning elections remains a higher priority than addressing public grievances.

Speaking to ANI, Reddy stated that the impact of the West Asia crisis must be addressed personally by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as he holds the highest administrative office in the country. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi is campaigning like a man who knows that his time is running out. Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha and AICC President, our leader Mallikarjun Kharge ji, demanded a debate in Rajya Sabha on the West Asia conflict and the ongoing crisis in the country, where people are suffering with heavy price hikes on commercial gas cylinders and essential commodities. There is so much disruption in the supply that people are facing huge problems," said Reddy.

So, all these core things need to be addressed by the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, because he is the one who is sitting in the top position of the administration. His priority needs to be addressing these issues and solving the problems, whereas he prioritised campaigning to win assembly seats. This is very unfortunate. This actually shows the priority of BJP leaders: that election winning is over public problems," added Reddy. This development comes after Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge and Union parliamentary minister Kiren Rijiju sparred over the fuel crisis debate amid the West Asia conflict. Kharge alleged that the government ignored his requests for a short-duration discussion on the LPG and fuel price hikes stemming from the conflict. In response, Minister Kiren Rijiju countered by blaming Kharge and Lok Sabha Opposition Leader Rahul Gandhi for skipping a high-level all-party meeting on the matter. Kharge hit back by highlighting the absence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from that same meeting, further accusing the government of prioritising its own legislative business over critical discussions on the fuel crisis. (ANI)

PM Chairs Security Meeting on West Asia Crisis

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a special meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) to review measures taken by various ministries and departments and also discussed further initiatives to be taken in the context of the ongoing West Asia conflict. Cabinet Secretary briefed about the action taken to ensure supply of petroleum products, particularly LNG/LPG, and sufficient power availability, an official release said.

Sources are being diversified for the procurement of LPG with new inflows from different countries. Similarly, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is being sourced from different countries. Prime Minister assessed the availability of critical needs for the common man. He discussed availability of fertilisers in the country and steps being taken to ensure its availability in the Kharif and Rabi seasons. He said that all efforts must be made to safeguard the citizens from the impact of this conflict. Prime Minister also emphasised smooth flow of authentic information to the public to prevent misinformation and rumour mongering. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)