Tharoor slams govt on LPG crisis, urges diplomacy in West Asia

Shashi Tharoor highlights a severe LPG crisis in India caused by Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. He urges the government to acknowledge the issue, find new gas sources, and lead diplomatic efforts for peace in West Asia.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Saturday described the LPG constraints across the country as a serious crisis affecting households and the restaurant industry. He urged the government to acknowledge the problem, boost gas supplies, and take a leading role in promoting peace in West Asia.

LPG Shortage Linked to West Asia Tensions

Speaking to the reporters, Tharoor said, "We definitely have to solve this problem very urgently, and I have already publicly appealed for the Government of India to lead in calling for an end to the conflict for de-escalation and diplomacy... Oil prices have been shooting up. The problem is a shortage because the physical gas cannot leave Qatar, which supplies 40% of the gas that we import from that area. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow strait that the Iranians have essentially blocked. Very few ships, three or four ships, have got through in the last several days, which is nothing. It's a major artery for shipping traffic. So as a result, LPG has become a problem... It's becoming a crisis for the common people of our country. I accept the government's explanation that in other areas like petrol, diesel and kerosene, there's no particular shortage. But for the minister to say there is no shortage of LPG, my answer is to ask the ordinary people of India what their experiences."

Impact on Homes and Businesses

"We can no longer talk in terms of there being no LPG crisis. There is an LPG crisis. It is affecting the Indian kitchen. It is affecting the Indian restaurant industry... There is a genuine problem we're facing. Five states are going to the polls, and all of us are running around campaigning. Where will we stop and eat on the way if there are no dhabas on the roadside? It's a very serious issue. I'm not blaming the government. I'm saying that as far as this is concerned, acknowledge the problem and try to solve it by doing whatever can be done to increase supplies of gas from other sources, and meanwhile play a constructive role, in fact a lead role, in calling for peace in the region," he said.

A Call for Diplomatic Leadership

Tharoor said the ongoing conflict in West Asia, particularly Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, is driving up global energy costs. He called for urgent diplomatic efforts to end the war to protect India's economy and ensure regional stability. "The Strait of Hormuz can only be opened through the end of the war because Iran has very few chokeholds on the rest of the world. At the moment, they're very much on the back foot. 13 American soldiers have been killed, 5,000 Iranians have been killed, according to media reports. The balance of the conflict has been entirely against Iran. Much more destruction in Iran, many more missiles have hit targets in Iran than Iranian drones and missiles have hit targets elsewhere. So Iran is on the receiving end. One of the areas they can do is they can make these things difficult and expensive for the world by tightly restricting channels of oil, channels of shipping, airlines and so on. So that is the leverage they've got. They're not going to surrender that unless we can persuade those who are conducting this war to quickly call it off. That should be our objective in the interest of saving not only our economy but the entire region," he said. (ANI)

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