New Delhi, Mar 11 (UNI) Former Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday said that hotels and restaurants across the country were on the verge of shutting down due to a severe shortage of LPG, which he alleged was caused by India taking a stand against Iran and in favour of the United States and Israel.
Kejriwal said that India imports around 60 per cent of its gas through the Strait of Hormuz, a region currently under Iran’s control, and claimed that Iran was not cooperating with India because Prime Minister Narendra Modi had sided with the US and Israel.
He further said that there was no need for the Prime Minister to visit Israel and hug Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a day before the war began.
“Twenty per cent of hotels in Mumbai have shut down. Fifty percent may shut down in the coming days due to the shortage of LPG cylinders. In Tamil Nadu, around 10,000 hotels and restaurants are on the verge of shutting down due to the non-availability of LPG. A similar situation could be seen in Punjab and across the entire National Capital Region,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal further said that this was the peak wedding season, and if the situation worsens, people may have to cancel their marriages.
He also claimed that Morbi in Gujarat, which he described as a textile capital, had been severely affected. According to him, out of 650 industries in the region, 170 had already shut down, and more than one lakh people had become unemployed due to the LPG shortage.
“They (the Centre) have also increased the prices of domestic and commercial gas,” Kejriwal alleged.
Kejriwal added that during wars, India should remain neutral, stating that non-alignment had been India’s policy even during the Cold War. However, he alleged that PM Modi favoured the US and Israel, which led to Iran turning against India.
“Modi has become a slave to the US. Trump and the US are mocking us daily. Our Prime Minister is being blackmailed,” Kejriwal claimed.
Kejriwal also praised former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, saying that she did not bow to US pressure during the 1971 Indo-Pakistani War and fought against Pakistan.
“The US had threatened us that they would attack, but Mrs. Gandhi still fought the war. Today, we are bending before the US,” Kejriwal said.
