NEW DELHI: In a fresh showdown between the Opposition and the government, protests and sloganeering rocked the Lok Sabha after Speaker Om Birla stopped Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi midway through his speech over his remarks on Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri and his alleged link to the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The chaos erupted when Rahul Gandhi was speaking in Lok Sabha on the ‘energy security’ situation in the country. Asserting that the foundation of every single nation is its energy security, Gandhi alleged that the government has “bartered” to the US India’s right to determine its relationships with different oil suppliers due to a “compromise.”
The government had allowed a short discussion on the LPG gas and oil situation in the country following a notice submitted by Gandhi requesting the permission to make a statement on the issue. While Gandhi was invited to speak before Puri, Gandhi alleged that the war between the US-Israel and Iran was going to have far-reaching consequences.
“The central artery from where 20% of global oil flows, the Strait of Hormuz, has been closed and this is going to have tremendous repercussions,” he said. Gandhi then sought to link the issue of India’s energy security with the US Department of Justice disclosures, evoking an uproar from the treasury benches.
“This is a very puzzling fact for me, this is a very puzzling fact as to why a nation the size of India would allow the President of any other nation to give us permission to buy Russian oil, to decide who our relationships are with,” Gandhi said in an apparent reference to the US giving a 30-day waiver to buy oil from Russia. “This has been a puzzle... The puzzle is about compromise,” he said and referred to Puri.
Birla asked Gandhi to speak on the notice he had given and not deviate. With Gandhi asserting that what he was saying was connected with energy security, Birla asked Puri to make his statement.
The Speaker’s decision triggered strong protests from Opposition members, who trooped into the well of the House raising slogans against Puri. While Puri continued speaking, Gandhi left.
LoP links crisis to US dept disclosure
The government had allowed a discussion on the LPG gas and oil situation in the country following a notice submitted by Gandhi requesting the permission to make a statement. While speaking on it, Gandhi linked the issue of India’s energy security with the US Department of Justice disclosures, evoking an uproar from the treasury benches