Listen to this article:

New Delhi: Almost a month after hostilities started in West Asia and after weeks of the opposition demanding a discussion on the conflict in parliament, the Union government on Wednesday (March 25) convened an all-party meeting to address its impact on India.

While Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said that the government had answered all questions and that the opposition had given its support, members of the opposition said that the meeting was not ‘satisfactory’.

The Wire has learnt that when opposition members raised questions about the emergence of Islamabad as a primary back-channel interlocutor between Iran and the US, the government responded to say that India is not a “dalal” (broker) nation like Pakistan.

Opposition members also questioned India’s silence on the US and Israel’s unilateral attack on Iran starting February 28 that killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel just two days before the attack.

The government on the other hand said that India is talking to all countries and that India’s energy needs are secure.

The Wire has learnt that opposition members said the discussion should have been held in parliament, which is presently in session, and important questions should have been answered inside the house. The government sought to assure them that India’s energy needs are secure, with domestic production accounting for 60% of the country’s LPG demand and India now purchasing fuel from 41 countries instead of 27 countries a decade ago.

The government also said that negotiations are underway with Iran for the........

© The Wire