On the second day of the debate in the Rajya Sabha on the working of the Rural Development Ministry on Wednesday (March 11, 2026), Opposition parties took up issues such as cooking gas and fuel shortage across the country, particularly in rural areas. The MPs alleged that the foreign policy of the Narendra Modi government led to such a situation and sought immediate intervention to address the crisis.
Member V. Sivadasan of CPI(M) said the government reduced the subsidy to solar and wind energy and forced people to use LPG connections through the Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojanascheme. “Now, after the American aggression on Iran, LPG price is skyrocketing,” he said. He added that though Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a friend of United States President Donald Trump, people of India have no use of it. “Thousands of hotels in rural India have been shut down. Women are crying,” Mr. Sivadasan said.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh said 21 crore LPG connections are in the rural areas. “I want to ask you, in the war in the Middle East between the U.S.-Israel and Iran, why are you pandering to Israel as a result of which India has to suffer from gas shortage?” he asked. Demanding a separate discussion on the issue, he said the entire country, be it villages or cities or every locality, was standing in queues. Citing the closure of tile factories in Gujarat due to gas shortage, he said: “Where is the Prime Minister of the country hiding when the nation is grappling with the gas crisis? Please bring him out… The whole country is standing in queue for gas and the PM is hiding.”
DMK leader Tiruchi Siva too asked for a separate discussion on the impact of the war on Iran. He said the situation created a huge impact with regards to fuel supply, especially natural gas and cooking gas. “Every State is convening urgent meetings on how to address the issues. Restaurants are being closed due to shortage of gas. The prices are going up and homemakers are suffering. Is it not very important that Parliament discusses that? We feel very sad,” Mr. Siva said. “We don’t know what is going to happen…how the economic recession that emerges in some other nation impacts the rest of the world,” he said, adding that the fuel crisis would impact rural lives the hardest.
