New Delhi: Rajya Sabha on Monday (March 16) saw a heated exchange of words after Leader of Opposition in the House Mallikarjun Kharge raised the LPG crisis in the country in the wake of the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Leader of the house J.P. Nadda accused the Congress of trying to “spread anarchy” instead of standing with the country during the crisis and alleged that a Congress leader had been caught hoarding LPG cylinders.Union parliamentary affairs minister Kiren Rijiju, on the other hand, accused the Congress of disrupting Union petroleum and natural gas minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s statement in Lok Sabha last week.Speaking during Zero Hour, Kharge said that he wanted to draw the government’s attention to the ongoing LPG shortage in the country:I want to draw the government’s attention towards the LPG issue owing to the conflict in West Asia. The LPG shortage is affecting the poor, middle class, restaurants, hostels and commercial users. India imports about 60% of its LPG needs and of this 90% comes through the Strait of Hormuz. During this current situation, the domestic availability and price stability have become serious issues. Not just homes, MSMEs and other commercial users are facing severe difficulties in obtaining LPG cylinders.Kharge said that while the petroleum minister had informed the Lok Sabha last week that there is no LPG shortage in the country, the ground reality proved the government’s claim wrong.“It is concerning that many establishments have limited or completely halted their operations. Some are purchasing at exorbitant rates, over Rs 5,000 per cylinder. Our honorable petroleum minister said in the Lok Sabha that there is no shortage of LPG. He urged caution against rumours. But the ground reality proves the government’s claims wrong,” said Kharge.“When the government was issuing advisories to Indian citizens in Iran that the situation could worsen, it should have clearly stated that this could also impact critical maritime routes and energy supplies. From that standpoint, we should have made preparations.”Last week, in his first remarks on the energy crisis driven by the West Asia conflict in parliament, Puri denied supply side shortages and said panic booking, hoarding was driven by consumer anxiety.Kharge said that the government must have hints of tensions rising in West Asia and said that “if advance planning and alternative arrangements had been made, things would not have been so bad today”.Referring to the rising price of LPG cylinders, black marketing and longer wait times for domestic cylinders Kharge said that if the government’s claims of no shortage were true, then why were such restrictions imposed.“This is leading to hoarding and panic booking. This raises a few important questions. If the government knew that LPG imports were going to be in crisis, why weren’t alternative arrangements made? Why wasn’t the Opposition taken into confidence for a coordinated response and for calming public anxiety? Why isn’t the government taking strict action to stop black marketing and hoarding?”Kharge’s speech was then disrupted, as the Treasury benches raised protests. Nadda rose to say that the Kharge had crossed the three-minute time limit for Zero Hour.Amid the uproar, Kharge said that the government’s actions showed “weakness of foreign policy and energy policy” and demanded a discussion on the conflict in West Asia and the energy security concerns in the House.Rijiju then rose to say that the Opposition did not listen to the Petroleum minister’s remarks in the Lok Sabha, and accused the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi of speaking about other things.“They did not listen to the petroleum minister’s remarks and disrupted his speech,” said Rijiju.“When Rahul Gandhi spoke, he brought in things from here and there, when he finally came to the LPG issue, the Opposition members disrupted and did not listen to his [Puri’s] speech,” said Rijiju.Nadda, in response to Kharge’s remarks, accused the Opposition of indulging in politics at a time of crisis, and that the Congress was spreading “anarchy” in the country.“This is Zero Hour, and he should speak within three minutes and he has spoken more than six minutes,” said Nadda.“I am hurt that our Opposition, particularly the Congress, does not back away from indulging in politics even in times of crisis. India does not have any contribution to this crisis, but the international situation has led to this crisis,” he said.“Hardeep Puri has given a detailed statement when they were not listening. Congress leader has been caught hoarding cylinders. They are inciting the peaceful people of the country. Instead of standing with the country during such a crisis, they try to create turmoil and spread anarchy in the country. This is condemnable.”