New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (March 11) broke his silence – of sorts – on the ongoing conflict in West Asia, using his first public remarks on the issue to attack the Opposition but saying nothing about the US-Israeli attack on Iran or the assassination of its leader.Modi chose to make his remarks at a National Democratic Alliance rally in poll-bound Kerala’s Ernakulam even though parliament is in session and the opposition has been demanding that a discussion be held on the conflict inside the House.While Modi has put out statements on X since the conflict began, today marks his first public remarks on the war. In his address in Ernakulam, Modi chose to address the concerns of the large Indian diaspora in West Asia, many of whom are from Kerala, and said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led National Democratic Alliance was making every effort to provide assistance to Indians in the region and accused the opposition Congress and Left of spreading fear and panic even as his government was working hard to make India “self-reliant”. “What is happening in the Gulf, West Asia it is natural that you are worried. Lakhs of our brothers and sisters work there. But you must remember that today there is a BJP-NDA government in the country. Whenever any citizen has been in danger we have put all our efforts to save them,” said Modi.Modi then referred to the Indians from Kerala and Tamil Nadu who had been rescued from conflict regions during his government’s tenure.“Whether it is nurses in Iraq, or Father Tom from Yemen, today’s India does not leave its citizens alone in danger. Alexis Premkumar Antonysamy was also brought from Afghanistan safely. Today also our efforts are to ensure that Indians stuck in the war get every possible help and security,” he said.While Modi did not make any mention of the Union government’s silence on the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in US-Israel strikes, he said that the governments of “friendly countries” are taking care of Indian citizens while accusing the opposition of “deliberately making provocative and irresponsible statements to worsen the situation.”“I’m satisfied that the governments of all our friendly countries in the Gulf are taking care of our citizens. I am grateful to them. Our missions and embassies in those countries are providing assistance to them 24/7. Anyone who needs food, shelter, medical help, legal assistance, everything is being ensured,” he said.“But it’s a great misfortune that the Congress party is seeking politics even in the midst of such a major global crisis. Congress is deliberately making provocative and irresponsible statements to worsen the situation. So that our people stay stuck in that crisis, and then these people can start a campaign to make reels abusing Modi. This is their game,” said Modi.India’s energy security has come under question in the wake of the crisis in West Asia. The Union government invoked the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 on Tuesday to regulate the supply of natural gas including LNG and re-gassified-LNG, even as reports of shortages have come in. The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz has also raised questions about India’s energy security. Modi on the other hand, did not make any mention of this, or the US government announcing that it has “allowed” India to purchase Russian oil temporarily. Instead, he said that the present crisis has shown the importance of being “atma nirbhar” (self-reliant).“The ongoing war in the Gulf has once again taught us the importance of self-reliance. Whether it is energy or any other sector, India is seeking to become self reliant. We have seen how important it is to be self-reliant during the Covid pandemic, the Ukraine war, and the current crisis has proved once again how important it is to become atmanirbhar (self-reliant),” he said.“To ensure that our reliance on other nations in the energy sector is reduced, steps have been taken over the years. Solar projects have been set up, including in Kerala. Even railways have been electrified.”Modi said that while the BJP-NDA is working to make India self-reliant, the opposition is “creating panic.”“On one hand BJP-NDA is working to make India self-reliant but the Congress and Left are ridiculing this self-reliant India. They made India reliant on other nations and today they are spreading fear,” he added. “Even during this war, Congress-Left and their ecosystem are creating panic and putting all their energy to spread fear. I want to tell the country to be cautious against the Congress-Left and this ecosystem that is spreading panic.”