Rahul Gandhi warns of energy security risks, urges government to prepare amid LPG shortage concerns

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi warned that India’s energy security has been compromised due to flawed foreign policy and urged the government to prepare for potential fuel shortages. His remarks come amid reports of LPG shortages affecting businesses across the country.

New Delhi: Alleging that India’s energy security has been compromised due to a “flawed” foreign policy, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government must prepare in advance. If not, crores will suffer in the future, he said amid reports of LPG shortages.

Gandhi said the PM is unable to function as the prime minister of India as “he is trapped”. But he still needs to make sure that the people of India are protected and “our energy security is managed by us”, the leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

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Basically, gas and fuel are going to be a problem because “our energy security has been compromised”, Gandhi said.

“A flawed foreign policy has created this problem. Now, what we have to do is to prepare. You have some time. The government and the prime minister must immediately start the preparations because otherwise crores of people will suffer massive losses.” he said.

“It is a bigger issue than Iran allowing oil and not allowing oil. This war is fundamentally about the current world order…We are going into an unstable time. When you are going into an unstable time you have to change your mindset, you cannot have the same mindset,” Gandhi said.

Gandhi said he is suggesting to the government that it must start thinking deeply about the possibilities and what India can do to make sure its people are not harmed.

“I am not making any political statement. I am just saying that I can see that a big problem is coming and if this is resolved at the level of Iran then also this problem will not go away because the world is changing, its structure is changing and we have to change our mindset. If we don’t change that mindset, not work with clarity and not keep India at the centre of it, then there would be problem,” Gandhi said.

“There is a central problem here. The prime minister is not able to function as the PM of India. There is a reason for it. He is trapped. Anyway, he still needs to make sure currently that the people of India are protected, he needs to make sure that our energy security is managed by us, that we are taking decisions pertaining to our energy security,” he said.

Gandhi added that he hopes the government listens to what he is saying. If it does not listen, then that will result in massive harm.

He said he wanted to make a statement in Parliament on the LPG situation.

“I had asked to be allowed to make a statement on the situation in the country regarding LPG. …I wanted to speak about that. But a new procedure has started that first a minister will decide, then I will speak and then the minister will reply. Let us see what happens,” he said.

Gandhi had earlier attacked Modi amid concerns over reported LPG shortage, saying the prime minister is asking the people not to panic but is himself panicking for “completely different reasons”.

He alleged that the prime minister is panicking because of the Epstein files issue and the Adani case in the US.

The prime minister on Wednesday appealed to the people to not panic and assured them that public interest will be protected. He expressed confidence in tackling the LPG crisis.

From induction cooktops and microwaves to firewood and solar options, restaurants, street food vendors, and catering businesses across the country are scrambling for alternatives as a shortage of commercial LPG cylinders begins to disrupt kitchens amid the widening conflict in West Asia.

With the government prioritising domestic cooking gas supply to households as the war disrupts global fuel lifelines, businesses dependent on commercial LPG — from small eateries to high-end restaurants — are watching the situation anxiously, with some even staring at possible closure in the days to come.

Amid the growing concerns, the government and oil companies have sought to reassure the people that domestic LPG cylinders remain secure.