Chandigarh, March 12 (IANS) Punjab Minister Aman Arora, on Thursday, lashed out at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Central government, holding it guilty of “comprehensive failure” on both foreign and domestic fronts.
Drawing sharp contrasts between government claims and on-ground reality, he said the twin promises of making India a ‘Vishwa Guru’ (world leader) and ‘Aatmanirbhar’ (self-reliant) now lie in tatters.
Participating in condemnation resolution moved by the State Food and Civil Supplies Minister Lal Chand Kataruchak in the Vidhan Sabha, Punjab Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Chief Arora pointed out to the contradiction he encountered in Thursday’s newspapers.
“On one side there were reports of kilometre-long queues outside gas agencies, thousands of hotels on the verge of closure, countless weddings teetering on cancellation and our mothers and sisters worried about running their kitchens. Right next to them was a full-page advertisement under the banner ‘Your Home Our First Priority’ by the Union government, apparently an attempt to console people. The reality is by issuing that advertisement, they (Centre) have admitted the situation is grave and getting gravier by the day.”
He reminded the Assembly House of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s pre-2014 election speeches, where the latter thundered about leading the world and achieving self-reliance.
“Fourteen years ago, he used to beat his chest and declare that 140 crore Indians would lead the world and never need imports. Today, look at where we stand. On both fronts — whether it is becoming Vishwa Guru or Aatmanirbhar — they have failed miserably.”
State AAP Chief Arora said after 12 years in power the BJP-led dispensation still cannot distinguish between friends and adversaries.
“One by one, every neighbouring country has drifted away from us and moved closer to China. This is the legacy of their foreign policy.”
He questioned the Prime Minister’s recent visit to Israel, citing, “He goes there, hugs (Israeli PM) Netanyahu, and the very next day, the US and Israel eliminate Iran’s top political and administrative leadership.”
He also reminded the Assembly House about the horrific school attack in Iran where more than hundreds of children were killed and not a single word of condemnation came from their (Centre’s) mouths for the innocent children killed.
Drawing on the Central government data, Arora presented a statistical indictment of 12 years of governance.
“On natural gas, production has fallen from 40.68 billion cubic metre (BCM) in 2012 to 35 BCM in 2024, while consumption has soared from 47 BCM to 69 BCM during this period. On crude oil, domestic production dropped from 37 million metric tons in 2013-14 to 29 million metric tons in 2023-24, even as consumption shot up from 158 million metric tons to 233 million metric tons.”
He highlighted that India’s LPG import dependence has risen from 45 per cent in 2014 to a staggering 66 per cent in 2025.
“This is their Aatmanirbhar Bharat. We import two-thirds of our cooking gas today. Production is falling, consumption is skyrocketing, and they talk of self-reliance. This is not self-reliance, this is dependency deepening by the day,” State AAP Chief Arora added.
He assured the people of Punjab that the state government would leave no stone unturned to protect their interests.
“Despite the Centre’s control over oil and LPG sector, but the state government will work day and night to ensure they face no difficulty.”
–IANS
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