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Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday raised concerns over India’s foreign policy and a worsening LPG shortage across the country, warning that disruptions in supply could push nearly one crore people towards unemployment.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, the Aam Aadmi Party national convenor said the country was facing a serious crisis due to a sharp drop in LPG availability.

“At this moment the country is passing through a very serious crisis. Across the country there is a massive shortage of LPG gas which is used for cooking in households, restaurants and in various kinds of industries. A severe shortage has emerged in the country because the daily production has fallen by 50 percent,” Kejriwal said.

LPG Imports Hit Due To Strait Of Hormuz Disruption

Kejriwal said a large portion of India’s LPG supply comes from imports routed through the Strait of Hormuz.

“In our country, around 60 percent of the LPG that we consume is imported. Out of this 60 percent import, nearly 90 percent comes through the Strait of Hormuz. Now the supply that used to come to India through the Strait of Hormuz has stopped for India. As a result, nearly 90 percent of those imports have been cut off. This means that overall around 50 to 55 percent of the LPG supply in our country has reduced,” he said.

Restaurants And Industries Facing Shutdown

The AAP leader said the immediate impact of the shortage was being felt by the hospitality sector.

“The biggest and most immediate impact of this crisis is being borne by restaurants and hotels as the government has issued orders that LPG gas will not be supplied to restaurants and hotels. Restaurants and hotels cannot keep LPG stock in storage because of safety concerns. Whatever number of LPG cylinders they need is supplied to them on a daily basis. So if LPG supply suddenly stops, they do not even have one day’s stock,” Kejriwal said.

“Because of this situation, around 20 percent of hotels and restaurants in Mumbai have already shut down. Within the next two days, nearly 50 percent of restaurants and hotels are expected to shut down,” he added.

Kejriwal said similar situations were emerging in several states.

“In Tamil Nadu, around 10,000 hotels, industries and restaurants are on the verge of shutting down. In Punjab and in Delhi NCR, thousands of hotels and restaurants are going to shut down in the coming days,” he said.

He added that the crisis could affect social events as well.

“This is also the peak wedding season and if this situation continues, many people may have to postpone their weddings. Similar stories are coming from Bengaluru, Hyderabad, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Haryana and Bihar.”

Impact On Industry And Employment

Kejriwal also pointed to the impact on manufacturing sectors.

“Morbi in Gujarat, which is considered the capital of the tile industry, has around 650 industries. Out of these, 170 industries have already shut down and nearly one lakh people have become unemployed,” he said.

He warned that the crisis could have wider employment consequences.

“Across the country there is a fear that more than one crore people could suddenly become unemployed because of this crisis. If unemployment happens at such a large scale, we can imagine what kind of situation the country will face,” Kejriwal said.

LPG Prices Rising And Black Marketing Concerns

Kejriwal also referred to recent increases in LPG prices.

“In the past few days the government has significantly increased the prices of both commercial and domestic LPG cylinders. The increase announced by the government is one issue, but apart from that LPG cylinders are now being sold in the black market in volumes and at exorbitant prices everywhere,” he said.

‘India should have remained neutral’

Linking the crisis to global developments, Kejriwal said the situation had worsened after the conflict involving Iran.

“This is happening because Israel and the US have attacked Iran. A large portion of the world’s oil and gas supply passes through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran currently has control over the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has stated that only those countries that are friendly to them will be allowed to move their ships through that route. Countries like Russia and China are being allowed to send their ships through that passage,” he said.

Criticising the Centre’s foreign policy approach, Kejriwal said India should not have taken sides.

“The biggest mistake made by Prime Minister Modi is that in a war where India had no stake, we should not have supported either side. We should have remained neutral. For the past 75 years India’s foreign policy followed the principle of Non Alignment in policy,” he said.

“Within just a few days the Prime Minister demolished that policy. He went and stood directly with Israel and America and took a position against Iran. What was the need for him to visit Israel just one day before the war began? What was the need for him to hug Netanyahu one day before the war started? By doing this he has pushed the entire country into a crisis,” Kejriwal added.

‘India Turned Into Colony Of America’

Kejriwal also criticised the government over its relations with the United States.

“For the past several months and the past one year we have been witnessing a disturbing trend. It appears that Prime Minister Modi has become a ‘gulaam’ (slave) of Donald Trump. I feel extremely ashamed to even use these words. But Prime Minister Modi has turned this great nation of 140 crore people into a colony of America,” he said.

He added that repeated comments from US leaders had hurt the country’s image.

“Every citizen of this country feels his blood boiling today. Every day we see on television how Donald Trump and even small officials and minor secretaries of the American government openly mock our Prime Minister and our country,” he said.

‘If Trump Has Secrets, PM Should Resign’

Kejriwal alleged that Prime Minister Modi appeared to be under pressure from the US leadership.

“There must be something that Donald Trump has about PM Modi which makes him so helpless. Trump himself is openly saying that he has some secrets about PM Modi which, if revealed publicly, could destroy PM Modi’s career,” he said.

“If the Prime Minister believes that Trump has some embarrassing secrets that could harm him if they become public, then he should resign. But he should not play with the future of the country,” Kejriwal added.

He concluded by urging that foreign policy decisions be taken in the national interest.

“India should not be made a slave of America. We should not bow before Trump. India’s foreign policy must be shaped according to the interests of our country, not according to the compulsions and weaknesses of PM Modi,” Kejriwal said.