NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday said that his govt is dealing with the crisis thrown up by the war in West Asia by using India’s interests as the guiding consideration. ” We are with India, with India’s interests, with peace and with dialogue,” said the PM. The remarks at a function organised by TV9 Network were seen by many as his response to the daily volley of attack from Congress for not siding with Iran in its conflict with the US and Israel. Modi said that the posture of strategic restraint and diversification of ties has held India in good stead at a time when global supply chains have been strained, creating an unprecedented and grave crisis. “India has presented a model of diversification and resilience, and ensuring that our citizens face the least possible difficulties has been our continuous endeavour”. He chided Congress for seeking to derive political mileage out of the crisis which has affected India, saying, “This is a time for restraint and sensitivity; when countrymen unite to face a crisis, the results are always meaningful.” Modi also emphasised govt’s efforts to ensure that development projects were not hampered because of the war. “In these 23 days since Feb 28, India has demonstrated its relationship-building capacity, decision-making capacity and crisis management capacity,” the PM said, highlighting how the govt has left behind the pre-2014 conditions and is marching ahead economically with renewed confidence. Despite challenges escalating since the Covid pandemic, 140 crore citizens have stood united, enabling India to overcome every adversity. He contrasted his govt’s approach with that followed by UPA which, when faced with rising crude prices, had chosen to issue oil bonds to companies to get them not to raise prices. Modi said that the decision not to raise fuel prices was made by “remote control”: his shorthand for Nehru-Gandhi family. While Manmohan Singh had to implement it, the former PM made his unease known by publicly saying that bonds were not a cure as they merely transferred the burden to a future generation. PM said that it fell upon his govt to pick up the tab, which with interest came to more than Rs 3 lakh crore, for UPA’s folly.
