'Is House inferior to Elon Musk's X?': CPI-M's Brittas slams govt on Indo-US trade deal announcement
New Delhi (PTI): CPI-M Rajya Sabha member John Brittas on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Modi government for announcing the Indo-US trade deal on social media platform X instead of Parliament, questioning whether the House had become "inferior to Elon Musk's X platform."
Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks to the President's address in the Upper House, Brittas raised concerns about the deal's potential impact on India's farm sector and accused the government of compromising the country's sovereignty.
PARLIAMENT OR X PLATFORM
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"Is this House more important than Elon Musk's X platform? That's the question," Brittas said, criticizing the government for announcing the deal at 9 pm on social media rather than on the floor of Parliament during an ongoing session.
He questioned the timing of the announcement, suggesting that the Prime Minister had to be "alert and awake at 11 pm at night to respond to his (US President) teasers," while Cabinet ministers relied on X to "shower compliments to Donald Trump."
"The healthy convention of this country is that any policy decision during Parliament session, any important decision, should be announced on the floor of the House, rather than on X platform. So, where is this country going?" he asked.
CONCERNS OVER AGRICULTURE SECTOR
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Brittas highlighted three key principles outlined by the US President in what he termed the "teaser" — that India will not buy oil from Russia, all trade barriers will be removed with zero tariff for imported items, and India will import goods worth USD 500 billion from the US.
"It translates to something like Rs 45 lakh crore. We can't even comprehend the amount. And tomorrow it will be Rs 47 lakh crore because the rupee is plummeting," he said.
The Kerala MP noted that the US Secretary of Agriculture had complimented Trump for "opening up the agriculture of India," raising fears that products like soya, maize, cotton, and dairy would flood Indian markets.
The US has mechanised and low-cost production of agriculture products unlike Europe, he warned adding that even after 15-20 hours, there had been no clarification from the government.
'SOVEREIGNTY AT STAKE'
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Brittas questioned India's sovereignty in decision-making, particularly on oil imports. "Who is the Petroleum Minister of this country? Donald Trump will tell you where to buy the oil from. Stop the oil from Iran. Stop the oil from Venezuela. Stop the oil from Russia," he said.
"I am talking about the sovereignty of this great nation, the mother of democracy. We were the leader of the non-aligned nation. We never bowed to anybody," he added, contrasting the current approach with India's historical foreign policy stance.
RUPEE DEPRECIATION
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On currency depreciation, Brittas recalled that when the rupee was at 60 to a dollar, the current government had said it was "in ICU, terminally ill, mute like the Prime Minister."
"If the rupee was in ICU when it was 60, at 92, it should be in mortuary or graveyard," he said.
GAP IN BUDGET IMPLEMENTATION
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The CPI-M leader pointed to the gap between budget announcements and actual spending. He cited the Prime Minister's internship programme, for which Rs 10,831 crore was earmarked but only Rs 526 crore — barely 4 per cent — was spent.
"This shows the real picture of your performance. How you are taking this country down the garden path. Such a vast gap between words and deeds. It's more than the Pacific Ocean," he said.
KERALA'S GRIEVANCES
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Brittas also raised issues specific to Kerala, claiming the state had been "consistently insulted" despite Union Minister Suresh Gopi's presence in the government. He mentioned unfulfilled promises including an AIIMS and tourism circuits.
"The Constitution says India is a union of states. Is Kerala not a state?" he asked, noting that 22 AIIMS had been granted to different states but Kerala's remained pending.
He praised Kerala as having a "gold standard" and being the first state to provide free education up to the graduate level.
ARTIFICIAL LIMB CONTROVERSY
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Brittas also attacked BJP MP Sadanandan Master for displaying artificial limbs in the House during his maiden speech on Monday.
"When he is giving speeches in Kerala, he is standing on his artificial limbs. It's an unfortunate incident. He enacts a drama by exhibiting, demonstrating his artificial limb," Brittas said.
The Kerala MP concluded by saying the people of Kerala "will never ever forgive them" and would not give the BJP a "foothold in Kerala."
It is alarming that the Prime Minister and Ministers are relying on Elon Musk’s X platform to provide teasers and responses to such a significant agreement. With Parliament currently in session, any responsible government should have made the formal announcement on the floor of…
— John Brittas (@JohnBrittas) February 3, 2026
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Rs 30,000 cr loss a month: Oil companies bleed as fuel prices on hold amid global energy spike
New Delhi (PTI): About Rs 700-1,000 crore loss per day. Rs 30,000 crore every month. India's state oil companies are quietly absorbing a massive financial hit to keep petrol, diesel and LPG prices unchanged even as global energy markets face a turmoil that is bigger than all previous crises combined.
While countries from Japan to United Kingdom have raised petrol and diesel prices by up to 30 per cent since the start of the West Asia conflict, fuel prices in India continue at two-year-old levels.
The war disrupted India's import of 40 per cent of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel), 90 per cent cooking gas LPG and 65 per cent natural gas (used to generate electricity, make fertilizer, turned into CNG and piped to household kitchens for cooking), but state-owned oil companies have maintained uninterrupted fuel supplies with no rationing or shortage at any point in the last 10 weeks.
But this has come at a cost - Rs 30,000 crore under-recovery or loss every month for the three oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL), two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said.
The under-recoveries - the gap between input costs and realised retail prices - rose sharply in March/April before tapering a bit. Daily under-recoveries during April were estimated at about Rs 18 per litre on petrol and Rs 25 per litre on diesel, translating into average losses of Rs 700-1,000 crore a day for OMCs, they said.
At a news briefing on developments in West Asia, Sujata Sharma, Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, said prices in the international markets, on which India relies to meet 88 per cent of its oil needs, have been volatile and supplies impacted.
Crude oil prices which were around USD 70 per barrel two months ago, are now at USD 120, she said. "It has been government's endeavour to keep prices stable so far and that there is no price increase for consumers," she said. "This has hit finances of OMCs... monthly under-recoveries are of the order of Rs 30,000 crore."
She, however, refused to say if retail petrol and diesel prices will continue to hold.
"As I said, the endeavour so far has been to see that there is no price increase," she said.
The three oil marketing companies (OMCs) have worked overtime to keep the supply lines running even when demand spiked due to panic buying.
The government intervention included excise duty reductions and absorption of part of the fuel cost burden. The special additional excise duty on petrol was cut to Rs 3 per litre from Rs 13, while excise duty on diesel was reduced to zero from Rs 10 per litre.
The under-recoveries would have swelled to nearly Rs 62,500 crore had the government not cut excise duty on petrol and diesel by Rs 10 per litre each.
The government, Sharma said, has taken a hit of Rs 14,000 crore a month in cutting the excise duty.
The Centre's effective absorption at peak crude prices was estimated at around Rs 24 per litre for petrol and Rs 30 per litre for diesel.
The February 28 strikes by the United States and Israel on Iran triggered a sharp escalation in West Asia tensions. Energy prices surged as the conflict widened and shipping risks intensified in the Strait of Hormuz - the shipping lane through which India and other countries imported crude oil, LPG and natural gas from Gulf countries. Tanker movement was disrupted.
The companies also faced additional costs from emergency crude sourcing, higher freight charges due to vessel diversions, elevated marine insurance premiums and refinery optimisation expenses. Despite these pressures, fuel and LPG supplies remained uninterrupted across the country.
The surge in crude prices and the decision to shield consumers from higher retail prices placed significant strain on OMC balance sheets and refining margins, sources said.
They added that the measures reflected a policy decision to prioritise consumer stability and economic continuity during a global energy shock.
Sources warned that a prolonged period of elevated crude prices could lead to higher working capital borrowings and force some recalibration of capital expenditure plans. However, investments linked to refining expansion, energy security infrastructure, ethanol blending, biofuels and transition fuels would continue with government backing, they said.
India's approach contrasted with measures adopted by several other economies, where fuel prices rose sharply after the conflict-driven energy shock.
Petrol prices increased by about 34 per cent in Spain, 30 per cent in Japan, Italy and Israel, 27 per cent in Germany and 22 per cent in the United Kingdom, according to estimates. Several countries also introduced rationing, conservation advisories, emergency relief packages or fuel caps.
In India, petrol prices remained Rs 94.77 per litre and diesel at Rs 87.67, with no rationing, mobility restrictions or supply disruptions, they added.
Sharma said the revenues that OMCs earn are used to buy crude oil, build infrastructure to process it into fuel and create channels that will take the fuel to consumers.
Their capex spending is all dependent on the revenues they earn, she added.
