Explained : All-Party Meet on West Asia: Opposition Questions Silence on Iran, Modi’s Visit to Israel, No Discussion in House and Its Impact

New Delhi: Almost a month after hostilities started in West Asia and after weeks of the opposition demanding a discussion on the conflict in parliament, the Union government on Wednesday (March 25) convened an all-party meeting to address its impact on India.

While Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju said that the government had answered all questions and that the opposition had given its support, members of the opposition said that the meeting was not ‘satisfactory’.

The Wire has learnt that when opposition members raised questions about the emergence of Islamabad as a primary back-channel interlocutor between Iran and the US, the government responded to say that India is not a “dalal” (broker) nation like Pakistan.

Opposition members also questioned India’s silence on the US and Israel’s unilateral attack on Iran starting February 28 that killed its Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Israel just two days before the attack.

The government on the other hand said that India is talking to all countries and that India’s energy needs are secure.

The Wire has learnt that opposition members said the discussion should have been held in parliament, which is presently in session, and important questions should have been answered inside the house. The government sought to assure them that India’s energy needs are secure, with domestic production accounting for 60% of the country’s LPG demand and India now purchasing fuel from 41 countries instead of 27 countries a decade ago.

The government also said that negotiations are underway with Iran for the smooth passage of ships and that talks are taking place with all sides.

Opposition members also questioned how Pakistan had emerged as a possible mediator and questioned India’s standing. Sources said that the government responded by saying that Pakistan is a “dalal” nation, while India is not and is a major country.

“We are not satisfied with the meeting, or how the government has handled its response to the war and that Pakistan has now emerged as a mediator is a failure of our diplomacy. Our demand for a discussion in parliament remains. They did not give any response to this and only said the speaker will decide,” Congress MP Tariq Anwar, who attended the meeting, said to The Wire.

Aam Aadmi Party MP Sanjay Singh also said that opposition members had raised questions about Modi’s visit to Israel just two days before the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran, as well as India’s continued silence on their attacks.

“We questioned why Modi visited Israel two days before the attack on Iran, to which they did not give a reply. It was also raised that it appears India has taken a side, to which the reply came that we are the only country that can talk to Israel, Iran, the US and the Gulf countries,” he said.

“They are trying to show that they can talk to all countries and relations have not soured with anyone. But the question is how will they handle the crisis with people queuing up for fuel? So the opposition will ask these questions.”

Opposition members said that while the government had said it hopes the war ends soon, they expressed their disapproval over its refusal to take a stand on the US and Israel’s unilateral actions against Iran.

“The government assured [us] that the Indian government is taking proactive measures in talking to all the countries and stakeholders. And the government wishes that the war ends soon,” said Communist Party of India (Marxist) MP John Brittas to reporters after the meeting.

“Nevertheless, the opposition parties expressed their disapproval of the government’s silence. All the opposition leaders who spoke said that the government should have taken a position with regard to the unilateral attack against a sovereign independent country – Iran – by the US. And there have been questions raised with regard to the visit of our prime minister to Tel Aviv, and also there were certain questions about the proactive role of Pakistan.”

The meeting was chaired by Union defence minister Rajnath Singh, with home minister Amit Shah, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar, petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Rijiju also present.

From the opposition, along with Anwar, Brittas and Singh, Mukul Wasnik of the Congress, Dharmendra Yadav of the Samajwadi Party and Sasmit Patra of the Biju Janata Dal were among those present.

The Trinamool Congress (TMC), which had announced its decision to stay away from a “closed doors” meeting when parliament was in session, did not attend.

Following the meeting, Rijiju said that the government’s side had given clear explanations to all queries and questions.

“The opposition parties at the end of the meeting stated, which is very important, that they thank the government for calling this all-party meeting. They also asserted that in such a difficult, challenging situation, we’ll all have to stand together,” he said to reporters.

“PM Modi has made an appeal through parliament that the Indian parliament should rise together in any challenging situation. I think the opposition parties displayed maturity in expressing at the end of the meeting that in any challenging situation, they will stand with the steps taken by the government.”

Riiju said that the opposition members were satisfied that India had secured passage through the Strait of Hormuz for four ships.

“Many members wanted to know the details of the gas and petroleum supply through the Strait of Hormuz, and they were all satisfied that India secured four ships already. So the opposition members were satisfied with the effort made by the government,” he said.

Opposition members also said that the all-party meeting was being held despite parliament being in session and in spite of their demands for a discussion in the house.

While Rijiju said to reporters that the TMC was “travelling” and therefore did not attend the meeting, the party said it had chosen to boycott the meeting due to the government’s refusal to have a discussion in the house.

“We did not attend because of our principled stand not to attend a meeting behind closed doors at a time of national crisis with shortage of LPG and fuel. This is a grave national crisis,” said TMC MP Sagarika Ghose.

“Informal workers are losing jobs, people are queuing for LPG. In these circumstances, we believe that the government needs to speak in the house and take the public into confidence about what it intends to do to keep supplies up in a time of crisis. Why is the government briefing opposition behind closed doors?”, she asked.

This article went live on March twenty-fifth, two thousand twenty six, at fifty-two minutes past eleven at night.

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