Raj Bhavans have become BJP war rooms: TMC slams govt over major governor reshuffle
New Delhi (PTI): The Trinamool Congress on Friday said the governor reshuffle effected across several states reflects the Modi government's contempt for constitutional federalism and slammed it for turning Raj Bhavans into BJP war rooms.
The party was reacting to Tamil Nadu Governor R N Ravi being appointed as the new governor of West Bengal, replacing C V Ananda Bose, who resigned abruptly on Thursday.
The appointment was a part of a major reshuffle of gubernatorial posts effected in several states and Union territories by President Droupadi Murmu late on Thursday night.
Trinamool Congress leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy said state governments should be involved in the appointment of governors.
Citing the recommendations by the Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions, he said "state governments must be involved in the appointment of the governor with the formation of panels, recommended by Sarkaria Commission".
"Punchhi Commission on Centre-State Relations recommended that governor must be appointed after consultation with the State concerned. Who listens?" the TMC Rajya Sabha MP said on X.
TMC's deputy leader in Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose said it is "basic grammar of federalism".
"The Sarkaria and Punchhi Commissions were clear: state governments should be consulted in the appointment of governors. That's basic grammar of federalism and democracy" Ghose said on X.
"By unilaterally appointing a new governor for Bengal, the Modi government again displays its contempt for constitutional federalism. Raj Bhavans becoming BJP war rooms," she charged.
The Punchhi Commission on reforms in Centre-State relations, under former Chief Justice Madan Mohan Punchhi, in a report in 2010 recommended appointment of the governor be made by a panel, including the chief minister.
The Sarkaria Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjit Singh Sarkaria, had recommended that the chief minister of the concerned state must be consulted before appointment of governor.
Political circles were abuzz with the unexpected resignation of Bose as the West Bengal governor just weeks before the Assembly polls there.
In a communique, the Rashtrapati Bhavan said that President Murmu has accepted Bose's resignation.
Talking to PTI over the phone from Delhi, Bose had said, "Yes, I have resigned. I have been the Governor of Bengal for three-and-a-half years; it's enough for me."
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleged that Bose may have been pressured by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to "serve certain political interests" ahead of the polls.
With Ravi moving to West Bengal, the Rashtrapati Bhavan communique said that Kerala Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar will discharge the functions of the Tamil Nadu governor.
As the governor of Tamil Nadu, Ravi, a former deputy national security adviser, was frequently locked in public battles with the M K Stalin-led DMK government in the southern state over different issues.
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Govt invokes ESMA powers, orders refiners to ramp up LPG production
New Delhi (PTI): The government invoked sparingly used emergency powers to direct oil refineries to ramp up LPG production as it looks to increase the availability of domestic cooking gas to hedge against potential disruptions from the widening Middle East conflict.
India consumed 31.3 million tonnes of LPG in 2024-25, of which only 12.8 million tonnes were produced domestically, with the remainder imported. Imports have become increasingly vulnerable as 85-90 per cent come from countries like Saudi Arabia that rely on the narrow but critical Strait of Hormuz for transit. The Strait has been effectively blocked following a week-old escalation in the region, after US and Israeli strikes on Iran prompted Tehran to retaliate against US bases in neighbouring countries.
While India has surplus oil refining capacity, it is short in LPG production. And now all public and private sector refiners have been asked to "maximise and ensure that propane and butane streams produced... are utilised for production of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)," according to an oil ministry order of March 5.
LPG is a mixture of propane and butane.
The order, issued under the powers derived from the Essential Commodities Act of 1955 (popularly called ESMA), asked the refiners to make such LPG produced available to three public sector oil marketing companies - Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd (BPCL) and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) only.
The refiners have also been barred from using the two chemicals for producing petrochemicals.
"All oil refining companies shall not divert, utilise, process, crack, convert or otherwise employ propane or butane stream for the manufacture of petrochemical products or other such downstream derivatives," the order said.
The LPG so produced is to be sold only to domestic households for use in cooking purposes, it said, adding any contravention of the order shall attract penal action.
India has 33.08 crore active LPG consumers, and the government is looking to maintain an uninterrupted supply.
Earlier, the government invoked ESMA provisions in the oil sector during the post-Ukraine war period, asking refiners to ensure domestic fuel availability and not to export, which had become lucrative due to high margins.
A top Oil Ministry official said the oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz have been impacted and the country was sourcing fuel from outside of the conflict zone.
LPG under the recently signed LPG import contract with the United States have also started coming in.
Under the deal, public sector oil companies will import about 2.2 million tonnes of LPG from the US Gulf Coast in 2026 - roughly 10 per cent of the country's annual LPG imports - in a move to diversify energy sources and bolster energy security.
While the country has adequate stock of crude oil (raw material for making petrol and diesel), as much as 30 per cent of the gas supplies have been hit.
To deal with the situation, allocation is being re-prioritised - enforcing supply cuts for some and augmenting those for critical sectors, he said.
India consumes about 195 million standard cubic meters of natural gas daily for generating electricity, producing fertilizers, turning into CNG for automobiles, piping to household kitchens for cooking and use as feedstock in industries ranging from steel to ceramic. Roughly half of this is imported.
However, India's main supplier, Qatar, has shut its liquefied natural gas (LNG) production facility after being hit by drones and missiles during the ongoing conflict. This together with restrictions in movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz has effectively cut off 60 mmscmd of supplies.
The official said companies are looking to buy LNG - super-cooled natural gas - from elsewhere. "A company bought a cargo (shipload of LNG) just yesterday."
"We are comfortably placed. Crude oil continues to flow. Even before the conflict broke out on February 28, 55 per cent of our sourcing was from non-Strait countries, which will now go up," he said, adding the vulnerability on LPG has been addressed through the order issued on March 5.
Besides, Russian oil being made available after the US waiver for one month will further augment supplies.
"We are in a comfortable position. All our options are open. Whatever we lost in the Strait of Hormuz, we have been able to pick elsewhere," he said.
LNG is being scouted around the globe, he said, expressing optimism that more supplies will be managed in the near future.
