Hyderabad (Telangana) [India], March 6 : All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) chief Asaduddin Owaisi on Friday lambasted Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) for their silence over the US administration granting 30-days to India for buying Russian oil.
Referring to US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's statement allowing India to buy Russian oil, he asked whether the country got freedom to hear a white man dictate terms again.
"I want to ask the BJP and RSS, how dare Trump's minister grant us time to buy oil? Who are they to dictate to us? BJP-RSS people, if you have love for the country, shun them (US) and tell them that we will buy oil from whosoever we want. Why are they silent on this? This is a question of our country's sovereignty. Buying oil from others should be entirely at our own discretion," Owaisi said while addressing a gathering at Masjid E Quba here.
"Have you put India on mortgage to America? Is this why we got freedom? To listen to a white person telling us this? These people (RSS-BJP) will not speak now. Trump inke bade abba hain," he added.
The AIMIM chief further cautioned that many Indians working in the Gulf countries may lose their jobs due to the escalation of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East region.
"Millions of Indians work in Gulf countries, and after the US, India receives most of its foreign exchange from these nations. If the conflict escalates, it will be a major loss for India, as many Indians may lose their jobs," Owaisi said.
Speaking on the attack on the unarmed Iranian warship IRIS Dena, he said that the Prime Minister has a constitutional responsibility to apprise the country about the incident.
"An Iranian ship with over a hundred naval officers on board had come to Visakhapatnam on India's invitation in February. While on its way back home, the ship was targeted and destroyed by a US submarine in the Indian Ocean near Sri Lanka. This is not in Iran's territory, but the Indian Ocean. More than 80 people have died. The enemy came so close. It is the constitutional responsibility of the PM to inform about what has happened," Owaisi said.
His remarks come after US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Thursday (local time) announced the 30-day waiver allowing India to purchase Russian oil to enable oil flow into the global market. Bessent announced a short-term measure to counter Iran during the conflict in West Asia, which has severely affected the Gulf countries supplying crude oil.
The 30-day temporary waiver by the US Treasury Department comes at a time when India continues to face potential risks linked to energy supply disruptions in the Middle East region amid escalating tensions after the February 28 US-Israel military strike on Iran, which resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures.
India sources nearly 40 per cent of its oil imports from the region, with a significant portion transported through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.
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