Drug use increased in Haryana post-2021 farmers' stir: BJP MP Jangra
Chandigarh, Dec 13: BJP Rajya Sabha MP from Haryana Ram Chander Jangra has alleged that after the 2021 farmers' agitation, the use of drugs increased in Haryana.
He also alleged that during the stir against three farm laws on Delhi's Singhu and Tikri borders, around 700 women from Haryana went missing. "Where they went, no one knows."
Farmer leaders took strong exception to Jangra's remarks and challenged him to cite any FIRs filed in the missing incidents he alleged took place.
Parrying charges, Jangra later said his statements were not directed at farmers and that he was merely highlighting the "side effects" of the 2021 agitation.
On Thursday, addressing a gathering of farmers at Meham in Rohtak district, Jangra said earlier there were only two types of addicts in Haryana – those who smoked cigarettes and those who drank alcohol.
"After 2021, the drugs spread in villages, some are consuming 'chitta', heroin, cocaine, and smack. Where did it come from?" he said.
"In 2021, for one year, 'Punjab ke nashedi' (drug addicts from Punjab), who sat on Singhu and Tikri borders, spread a drug network in Haryana.
"For your information, you should ask for the CID report, from villages near the Singhu border and on the Tikri border, 700 girls went missing. Where they went, no one knows?" Jangra said.
He also claimed that some of the farmer leaders were capitalising on the agitation to bankroll their political careers.
"Rakesh Tikait (BKU leader) fought two polls in UP, and he forfeited his security deposit. (Haryana BKU chief) Gurnam Singh Charuni fought from Pehowa, he got 1,170 votes. They come to provoke you, collect funds, drive a wedge between us and leave.
"On Kundli border, 100 factories shut down, at Bahadurgarh border (Tikri) too 100 factories were shuttered. Who suffered the loss? It was Haryana, our farmers. Whose brotherhood was spoiled, whose funds they took, whose girls went missing, whose youth fell prey to drugs? it was ours. Our state had to bear such losses due to this agitation," Jangra said.
The politician, however, later said his remarks were not aimed at farmers, who, he said, "make a big contribution to the country's economy."
"I was referring to the aftereffect, the side effect of such agitations. I have not blamed farmers," Jangra told PTI over the phone.
"Punjab being a border state, everyone knows that because of Pakistan, the drug menace had spread … Drug peddlers got a chance to spread their network and after this (the 2021 stir) in Haryana too it spread.
"I have not blamed farmers. I have said due to the side-effects of that agitation such people (peddlers) got an opportunity and drugs spread in Haryana...," he said.
Meanwhile, farmer leader Sarwan Singh Pandher, while speaking to reporters at the Shambhu border, slammed Jangra for his remarks.
"Jangra has said that 700 girls went missing. BJP is ruling at the Centre and in Haryana. Were FIRs registered in all these cases? Why did he remain silent for such a long time? If he has any proof, he should present it before the people of the country … Or else, he should apologise," Pandher said.
Pandher demanded that the BJP expel Jangra from the party.
"We want to ask if drugs were being sold, then what was Haryana police doing? Such remarks have been made only to defame the farmers," he said.
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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.
