“No Lockdown Planned,” Nirmala Sitharaman Dismisses West Asia Crisis Rumours

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has dismissed reports that suggested the government could consider a lockdown like measure as fuel shortages loomed.

The Finance Minister called such reports baseless and said that there was no such move being considered

“I want to reassure people that there shall not be any lockdown. I am surprised that some leaders are saying there will be a lockdown and there will be shortages of fuel. These are baseless. Such remarks coming from those in political domains are worrisome. There will be no lockdown such as we saw during Covid. I want to reassure people that there shall be no such lockdown as we saw in Covid,” she said.

Earlier, Union Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas Hardeep Singh Puri, also made it clear that there will be no lockdown of the country, which was previously implemented during the pandemic period. The Minister also criticised rumours of lockdown, calling it “irresponsible and harmful.”

“Rumours of a lockdown in India are completely false. Let me state this clearly, there is no such proposal under consideration by the Government of India. In such times, it is important that we remain calm, responsible, and united. Attempts to spread rumours and create panic in such a situation are irresponsible and harmful,” Puri said in a post on X.

Meanwhile, the Finance Minister said the main aim of pushing excise duty cuts for Petrol and Diesel was to insulate consumers from the rising price of Crude Oil due to the ongoing West Asia conflict.

“First of all, whenever such a crisis comes in the world and its impact falls on India, before this whether it was COVID or now, the way the Honourable Prime Minister immediately responds to it is so that the burden doesn’t fall on the public and the public doesn’t face any difficulty or shortage of petrol, diesel, and LPG. For this reason, now, because prices are rising in the international market of crude oil, and because of that, petrol, diesel, and ATF (Aviation Turbine Fuel), the Honourable Prime Minister wanted the consumer price not to increase. For that reason, we have decided to support Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) so that the government will help them with the things they are buying at higher prices, but the rate should not be increased for the public,” she said.

“Yesterday, on the day of Ram Navami, the Honourable Prime Minister called an emergency meeting and held a discussion on these topics and immediately took a decision. And whatever work had to be done, our ministry and the Petroleum Ministry sat together last night and did the work, and today we are announcing this decision,” she added.

The Finance Minister said another aim of the excise cuts was to protect the Oil Marketing companies which were facing issues because of the cost of crude oil shooting up. This she said would also ensure there is no shortage in fuel supplies.

“Prices are increasing abroad, because of which oil marketing companies might stop buying–such a situation should not occur. They should continue to buy, bring it in, and make arrangements to ensure our public gets the right quantity at the right time. That’s why, due to this decision today, there will be no shortage in supply, no shortage in availability, and the public will get diesel, petrol, and crude,” the FM said.

The government on Friday slashed excise duties for petrol and diesel bringing them down to Rs 3 per litre of petrol and zero for a litre of diesel. Windfall tax on export of diesel has been set at 21.5 rupees/litre.

The reduction comes amid a global energy crisis due to the US-Israel war on Iran and the consequent Tehran-imposed blockade on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s crude oil and gas supply, between 20 and 25 million barrels per day, is shipped. Before the conflict, India bought 12 to 15 per cent of that oil. (ANI)