PM Modi to chair meeting with CMs tomorrow amid West Asia conflict

The Prime Minister is convening the meeting as rising tensions in the Middle East, triggered by the US-Israel attack on Iran, have disrupted gas supplies and raised concerns over energy security.

However, in a significant development, Iran has allowed five “friendly nations”, including India, access to the Strait of Hormuz, which was earlier closed by Tehran following the strike.

Earlier this week, he urged citizens to remain united and vigilant amid the crisis, drawing lessons from the COVID-19 pandemic as global energy supplies face disruption.

Addressing the Lok Sabha, Modi stressed the need to stay “careful” and “alert” against rumours during such challenging times.

“When such crises arise, some elements try to take advantage of the situation. Therefore, all agencies responsible for ensuring law and order have been put on alert, including coastal security, border security and cyber security,” he said.

“Because of this war, the difficult global situation may continue for a long time. Therefore, we must remain prepared and stay united. We have faced such challenges before as well by staying united during the coronavirus pandemic.”

The Prime Minister warned against misinformation, saying, “We must remain very careful and alert. Some people will try to spread rumours to take advantage of the situation. We must not allow such people to succeed.”

Modi had urged state governments to ensure strict monitoring to curb black marketing and hoarding, calling for firm action against such practices.

Assuring the nation of preparedness, he said India has adequate reserves of coal, energy, and food grains despite disruptions linked to the Strait of Hormuz crisis.

“India has more than 5.3 million metric tonnes of strategic petroleum reserves. The country is also working on arrangements for more than 6.5 million metric tonnes of additional storage. Apart from this, the reserves held by our oil companies are separate,” he said.

Highlighting food and energy security, Modi added, “The farmers of our country have filled our food grain reserves, so India is well prepared in terms of food security. At present, all power plants in the country have adequate coal stock available. India has created a record by producing more than 1 billion tonnes of coal for the second consecutive year.”

He further informed the House that diplomatic efforts have helped ease supply concerns. “The government is in constant contact with suppliers from different countries. Because of such efforts, many of our ships that were stranded in the Strait of Hormuz have also arrived in India,” he said.