A day after US President Donald Trump called up Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the situation in West Asia, the government Wednesday informed an all-party meeting that Modi made it clear to Trump that India wanted to see the war coming to an end because it was “affecting everyone”.
When Opposition leaders inquired if Pakistan’s role as a mediator between the US and Iran was a setback for India, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar was quoted as having said that Pakistan had been playing that role since 1981. At least two leaders quoted him saying India cannot be “a dalal” (broker) nation running after countries and asking if its services were needed.
Jaishankar, according to some of those present at the meeting, also pointed out that if this was being seen as a failure of India’s foreign policy, then there was failure in the past too.
The government also assured the Opposition that the country had adequate stocks of oil and gas, and that there was no need to panic.
With the war in West Asia and the government’s response on various developments, including the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the sinking of an Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean, dividing the political class, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh chaired the all-party meeting in an attempt to forge a broad domestic political consensus on the matter. But the Opposition appeared unsatisfied with the government’s outreach.
The Congress demanded a discussion in both Houses of Parliament on the volatile situation and the government’s foreign policy approach. The Trinamool Congress stayed away from the meeting, decrying the government’s decision to convene an all-party meeting in a conference room instead of allowing a discussion in Parliament.
Apart from Singh, the meeting was attended by seven ministers including Jaishankar, Home Minister Amit Shah, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, Health Minister J P Nadda and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju.
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At the outset, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri made a presentation on the developments in West Asia and the strategic importance of the Strait of Hormuz.
Asked about the conversation Modi had with Trump, Jaishankar told the leaders that the PM conveyed to Trump “we want to see the war coming to an end as it is affecting everyone.”
The government also said its prime concern was ensuring the security of the Indian diaspora living in the Gulf region and fulfilling domestic energy needs. And on that count, the government said, it had been successful so far.
The Opposition asked several questions. Sources said Congress’s Mukul Wasnik flagged three issues: the role that Pakistan seemed to be playing in the mediation efforts, the need to reduce import dependency of crude oil and LPG and increase domestic production, and clarity on strategic reserves and the definition of “adequate reserves”.
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Pointing out that Pakistan had been completely isolated after the 26/11 terror attacks with the world viewing it as an exporter of terror, Wasnik asked whether the emergence of Islamabad as a mediator was a setback to India’s foreign policy. He asked whether India was losing its importance as the leader of the Global South.
Opposition leaders also asked questions about the Prime Minister’s visit to Israel, the import of oil from Russia, rehabilitation of Indians returning from Gulf countries and the delayed response of the government on the killing of Khamenei and the sinking of an Iranian ship in the Indian Ocean.
Intervening, Puri said the daily demand for LPG cylinders was about 56 lakh before the war which spiked to 89 lakh for some days. But the demand, he said, had now come down to the pre-war levels and there was no need to panic. He said the government was diversifying its imports to meet the demand and to ensure that there was no dependence on one country.
Jaishankar said Modi was in constant touch with heads of governments and counterparts to secure the country’s interests, for both energy and the security of its nationals.
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On Russian oil, Jaishankar told the leaders that there were US sanctions earlier too. He referred to sanctions during the time of Hillary Clinton as the US Secretary of State. He also rejected CPM MP John Brittas’s pointed question on whether the government was converting silence into statecraft. He said it was not the case and India had been talking, commenting, posting and responding to all developments.
Brittas also asked about the government’s assessment on the war impacting the Indian economy. Pointing out that the Prime Minister has already spoken about a Covid-like situation, he asked whether the government calculated the impact of the war on budgetary estimates, economy and employment.
While NCP (SP)’s Supriya Sule asked the government to explain the tangible benefits accruing to India by aligning with the US, AAP’s Sanjay Singh questioned the rationale behind the Prime Minister’s visit to Israel.
SP’s Dharmendra Yadav and AIMIM’s Asaduddin Owaisi too flagged what they felt was the government’s “inadequate” response to the assassination of Khamenei, the sinking of the Iranian ship. In response, the government said that the Foreign Secretary had visited the Iran embassy and signed the condolence book.
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Jaishankar told the leaders that the US and Israel were India’s partners, spanning trade to technology. He said India was interacting with everybody and that Iran was also happy with New Delhi’s gestures and postures. He said as many as 18 ships were stranded in the Strait of Hormuz and India was in touch with Iran to get those ships out. Puri told the leaders that India had not stopped importing Russian oil and that 20 per cent of the imports came from Russia in February.
While Congress’s Tariq Anwar, who represented the party at the meeting along with Wasnik, told reporters that the meeting was unsatisfactory and that the party wanted a discussion on the situation in the Lok Sabha under Rule 193 and in the Rajya Sabha under Rule 176, Rijiju said the government had replied in detail to all questions from the Opposition and there was no need for a discussion in Parliament at this moment. He said the Opposition leaders displayed “maturity in expressing at the end of the meeting… that in any challenging situation… they will stand with the steps taken by the government.”
“All the queries… and whatever confusion was there… all were clearly explained by the government. And the Opposition parties, at the end of the meeting, stated that they thank the government for calling this all-party meeting and they also asserted that in such a difficult and challenging situation… we all have to stand together,” Rijiju said.