Kamal Ghorui
As anticipated, the crisis of fuel scarcity has loomed over the entire world due to the Iran-Israel conflict and the United States’ involvement in it. It was evident that, as a result of this crisis, common citizens would experience shortages of fuels such as LPG, petrol, and diesel. During such times of crisis, it is expected that all nations stand united in facing the challenge. In both Israel and Iran, even the opposition parties have stood in support of their respective ruling governments.
In India, however, leaders from parties such as the Congress, the Communists, and the UBT faction have exploited this very crisis for their own petty political self-interest. The Congress party actively utilized various channels to vigorously spread rumors across the country regarding a shortage of LPG. By propagating such rumors, the Congress sought to create difficulties for the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party. However, the Congress leadership failed to realize that, in doing so, they were pushing ordinary citizens into the abyss of crisis. Given the prevailing gas shortage in the country, the government and the administration naturally expect citizens to face this situation with patience and restraint.
For its part, the government is taking urgent measures to resolve this shortage as quickly as possible. Yet, despite these efforts, the rumors regarding the gas shortage, instigated by the Congress, have triggered widespread panic among the common people. In many locations, citizens were seen queuing up outside gas distribution centers. The rumors disseminated by the Congress through various media channels instilled a deep fear in the minds of citizens: the fear of what they would eat if they failed to secure any gas supplies.
The Congress deliberately spread these rumors regarding the gas shortage with the sole intention of fomenting public discontent against the government. Petrol and diesel prices have increased drastically due to shortages in many countries. Petrol and diesel are available in abundance in India. Even though crude oil prices in the international market have surged significantly due to the ongoing war, there has been no hike in petrol and diesel prices within India. The supply of domestic and commercial gas has also gradually begun to return to normalcy. However, during the initial phase, the Congress party engaged in petty politics by deliberately instilling a fear of gas shortages in the minds of the common people. The Congress party spread rumors about gas shortages with the intention of causing citizens to rush to the distribution center for gas cylinders, resulting in stampedes, chaos, and stone-throwing incidents, which would be blamed on the government, and to defame the Modi government and the BJP.
Following the outbreak of the war, oil companies were compelled to decide to hike gas prices in India by Rs 60 due to rising rates in the global market. However, the Congress party conveniently chose to overlook the fact that prior to this hike a reduction of Rs 300 in domestic gas prices had been implemented just a year earlier. The moment oil companies raised domestic gas rates by Rs 60, the Congress launched protests against the move. The Congress leadership also conveniently forgot that during the tenure of the Congress-led UPA government when Manmohan Singh served as Prime Minister, gas prices had soared to over Rs 1,200 in the year 2013-14. Despite the rise in the cost of various goods and services over the past 12–13 years, gas prices in India have remained capped at Rs 900. During the five-year period from 2009 to 2014, under the administration of the Manmohan Singh government, domestic gas prices had surged from Rs 340 to Rs 1,241. This means that during the Congress regime, the price of domestic gas witnessed a staggering 265 percent increase over a five-year period.
In contrast, during the tenure of the Modi government, specifically the five-year span from 2021 to 2026, gas prices rose by only about 13.4 percent. In 2021, the price of domestic gas stood at Rs 805. In 2022, largely due to the Russia-Ukraine war, gas prices surged to reach the Rs 1,000 mark. Subsequently, after 2024, these prices declined. The Congress leadership constantly seeks opportunities to malign the Modi government and the Bharatiya Janata Party under one pretext or another. The Congress party had spread numerous rumors during the period of demonetization as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, the common man is not so gullible as to fall victim to the rumors propagated by the Congress. During the current crisis, despite the Congress party spreading numerous rumors, citizens did not resort to any panic or disorder in their efforts to procure gas supplies. Consequently, the Congress failed in its attempt to transform this crisis into a state of anarchy. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Congress’s ‘Crown Prince,’ Rahul Gandhi, actively worked to sow seeds of doubt in the minds of the common people regarding the COVID-19 vaccine. The Congress leadership’s calculated strategy was to foster the misconception that the vaccine was ineffective; they believed that if such a belief took root, no one would take the shot, thereby allowing the disease to spread even further. However, the common people disregarded the Congress’s propaganda and instead queued up to receive the indigenous COVID-19 vaccine. As a result, the pandemic was brought under control in a timely manner. While opposing the ruling party is a primary duty of the opposition, exercising prudence and discretion in such opposition is of paramount importance.
In 1971, when the then-Prime Minister Indira Gandhi decided to support the liberation movement in Bangladesh, the Jana Sangh, the main opposition party at that time, decided to stand firmly behind the Indira Gandhi government. Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who served as the President of the Jana Sangh at that time, publicly articulated the rationale behind supporting the Indira Gandhi government, emphasizing that it was driven by the broader national interest. In 1991, while liberalizing the economy, the then Prime Minister, Narasimha Rao, was compelled to take certain difficult decisions. Had these decisions not been taken immediately, the country’s economy would have plunged into a severe crisis. But the Bharatiya Janata Party, the main opposition party in the Lok Sabha at that time, decided to support Narasimha Rao. Both the Jana Sangh and the Bharatiya Janata Party have consistently adhered to a policy of prioritizing national interest over partisan politics. Sonia and Rahul Gandhi, the mother-son duo, however, have never been able to adopt such a stance transcending politics for the sake of the national good. Due to such petty politics of Congress, the party’s public support has declined. Based on past experience, there is little hope that Congress leadership will prioritize national interest over political gain, even in times of crisis and disaster.
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