Giriraj Singh accuses Rahul Gandhi of spreading misinformation on energy issue

New Delhi: Union minister Giriraj Singh on Friday accused Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of spreading confusion and misinformation about LPG availability in the country.

Gandhi behaved in a similar manner during COVID-19 and the country tackled the pandemic efficiently under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the textiles minister told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

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On Thursday, Gandhi alleged that India's energy security had been "compromised" due to a "flawed" foreign policy and that the government had "bartered" to the US the right to determine relationships with different oil suppliers.

Raising the issue in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi said the war between the US and Israel, and Iran is going to have far-reaching consequences.

Criticising Gandhi, Giriraj said, "Abusing the country is the only thing Gandhi knows. When Covid hit the country, he spread confusion and misinformation across the nation."

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"Sometimes he questioned why vaccines were not being given to children. At other times, he made different claims. He only spread confusion," the textiles minister told reporters in the Parliament House complex.

However, the prime minister served the people of the country through the vaccination programme and as part of his foreign policy, supplied vaccines to many countries, reflecting India's philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' (The world is one family), he said.

Now, Giriraj claimed, Gandhi is spreading confusion and misinformation about LPG availability in the country.

The Begusarai MP said the Congress leader does not deserve to be the leader of opposition.

"Rahul Gandhi's role has been reduced to behaving like an urban Naxal, with no seriousness at all. He does not even understand what it means to be the leader of opposition," the minister said.

"He still believes he is a crown prince. It is unfortunate that the Congress has become a slave to the fake Gandhi family," he added.

The raging West Asia conflict has triggered an LPG crisis in India, with people having to stand in long queues for hours to buy cylinders.

With the conflict shutting Strait of Hormuz -- the narrow sea lane between Iran and Oman through which India got more than half of its 5.8 million barrels of crude oil, 55 per cent of cooking LPG gas and 30 per cent of liquefied natural gas (LNG) -- oil companies have prioritised supply to household kitchens while cutting back on commercial users like hotels and restaurants.