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    COVER STORY                                                              APRIL 10, 2026    |  The Indian Eye                    5

            the burden. The government has also
            “reduced excise duty to keep prices
            stable,”  highlighting  the  balancing
            act  between  shielding  consumers
            and  sustaining  the  energy  sector.
                Union  Minister  Nitin  Gadkari
            reinforced  the  government’s  po-
            sition,  asserting  that  “there  is  no
            shortage of gas or fuel in the coun-
            try.”  While  acknowledging  that
            “there are difficulties” due to India
            importing  “86  per  cent  of  energy,”
            he argued that “due to the policies
            adopted by the govt, people are not
            facing any problems.”
                Gadkari  also  pointed  to  long-
            term solutions rooted in self-reliance
            and  energy  transition.  “We  have
            brought electric cars, electric scoot-
            ers and electric buses. We are work-
            ing on Hydrogen. There are ethanol
            vehicles,”  he  said,  adding  that  “to
            achieve the goal of a self-reliant In-  MT Jag Vasant arrives at DPA Kandla’s Vadinar Terminal with 47,000 MT of LPG, set for Ship-to-Ship (STS) transfer at anchorage,
            dia, we need to reduce imports and                              in Jamnagar (Deendayal Port Authority Kandla/ANI Photo)
            increase  exports.”  He  highlighted
            that India spends “Rs 22 lakh crores
            on  importing  fossil  fuels,”  under-  as “compromised.”           has aggravated the energy, economic   for consensus in the face of a global
            scoring the urgency of shifting to al-  These  sharp  political  attacks   and  global  security  challenges.”  He   crisis.
            ternative sources such as solar power   contrast with a more nuanced posi-  pointed to “global supply chain dis-  Meanwhile, the human and lo-
            and bioethanol.                   tion  articulated  by  senior  Congress   ruption,  tremors  in  world  markets   gistical dimensions of the crisis add
                Yet,  even  as  the  government   leader Anand Sharma, who acknowl-  and sharp depreciation of the rupee”   further layers to the government’s re-
            projects control, the opposition has   edged  the  government’s  diplomatic   as  immediate  and  long-term  chal-  sponse. Jaiswal noted that “approxi-
            seized  on  rising  prices  and  struc-  handling. He described it as “mature   lenges, urging that “the enormity of   mately  10  million  Indian  citizens
            tural vulnerabilities to mount a   and skillful avoiding potential mine-  the crisis must be fully registered.”  reside in the GCC countries,” all of
            sustained  attack.  Congress  lead-  fields,” and called for “national uni-  This divergence within the oppo-  whom are safe, though “eight Indian
            er  Randeep  Singh  Surjewala  crit-  ty”  and  “a  national  consensus  and   sition itself highlights the complexity   citizens  have  been  casualties…  and
            icized  the  increase  in  commercial   resolve” in dealing with the crisis.  of the political moment. While one   one  remains  reported  as  missing.”
            LPG  prices,  calling  it  a  “huge  bur-  At the same time, Sharma   strand seeks to criticize the govern-  India has also facilitated the evacua-
            den”  on  small  businesses.  “They   warned  of  the  broader  implications   ment  aggressively  on  pricing  and   tion of “204” nationals from Iran via
            have  increased  the  price  of  a  Rs   of the conflict, stating that “the war   policy, another emphasizes the need   Azerbaijan, reflecting the operation-
            200  commercial  gas  cylinder…  this                                                                 al challenges posed by the conflict.
            is  the  third  hike  in  60  days,”  he                                                                  These efforts underscore that
            said, adding that “for the first time                                                                 the crisis is not limited to fuel pric-
            in  78  years,  a  19-kilo  commercial                                                                es  or  supply  chains  but  extends  to
            gas  cylinder  has  crossed  Rs  2000.”                                                               the safety of citizens and the stabili-
                Surjewala  contrasted  current                                                                    ty of critical maritime routes. India’s
            prices  with  those  under  previous                                                                  participation in international discus-
            Congress governments, stating, “In                                                                    sions,  including  talks  hosted  by  the
            the  Congress  government,  we  left                                                                  UK on the Strait of Hormuz, further
            gas  at  Rs  400,”  while  alleging  re-                                                              highlights  the  global  dimension  of
            peated hikes under the current re-                                                                    the challenge.
            gime. His remarks reflect a broader                                                                       Ultimately,  the  energy  crisis
            opposition strategy of linking global                                                                 has  become  a  prism  through  which
            price shocks to domestic policy de-                                                                   broader political narratives are being
            cisions,  thereby  shifting  the  focus                                                               constructed. For the government, it
            from external causes to internal ac-                                                                  is  a  story  of  resilience—of  securing
            countability.                                                                                         supplies,  stabilizing  prices  and  pur-
                The  opposition’s  critique  ex-                                                                  suing long-term self-reliance. For the
            tends beyond pricing to foreign poli-                                                                 opposition, it is a story of vulnerabil-
            cy and crisis management. Congress                                                                    ity—of  rising  costs,  policy  gaps  and
            leader Rahul Gandhi accused Prime                                                                     questionable leadership.
            Minister Narendra Modi of mishan-                                                                         As the crisis unfolds, these com-
            dling the situation, alleging that In-                                                                peting  narratives  are  likely  to  in-
            dia has been sidelined internation-                                                                   tensify.  With  global  energy  markets
            ally.  “Our  foreign  policy  is  Prime                                                               remaining  volatile  and  geopolitical
            Minister  Modi’s  personal  foreign    Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari says there is no shortage of   tensions  unresolved,  the  political
            policy…  it’s  a  universal  joke,”  he                   LPG sand petroleum (ANI)                    battle  over  the  crisis  may  prove  as
            said,  describing  the  Prime  Minister                                                               consequential as the crisis itself.

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