Uddhav takes jibe at BJP's 'Ek hai' slogan, says temples not safe in India, Bangladesh
Mumbai (PTI): Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray on Friday sought to corner the BJP over Hindutva and said the party-led central government should inform Parliament what steps it is taking to protect Hindus in Bangladesh, where minorities have faced violent attacks.
Addressing a news conference in Mumbai, Thackeray slammed the BJP, saying its Hindutva is only for votes.
The former CM referred to a notice issued by the Railways to demolish a Hanuman temple outside Dadar station and said a "fatwa" (edict) has been issued to bring down the 80-year-old shrine built by loaders.
Taking a dig at the BJP over its "Ek hai toh safe hai" (united, we are safe) slogan, widely used during campaigning for the last month's assembly polls, he said even temples are not safe under the regime of the national party.
Hitting back, state BJP president Chandrashekhar Bawankule said those who abandoned Hindutva for power and allied with the Congress are now talking about the safety of Hindus.
Dubbing Thackeray's Hindutva as "bogus", Bawankule said it was during his tenure as chief minister that two sadhus were lynched by a mob in adjoining Palghar district (in April 2020) and the entire state saw his "anti-Hindutva" stand.
At his press meet, Thackeray further said temples are being vandalised in Bangladesh, where Hindus and other minority groups have faced violent attacks after the ouster of then-Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on August 5.
Sheikh Hasina is safe in India, where she fled amid violent protests in Bangladesh, but what about Hindus in the neighbouring country? Thackeray asked.
"PM Modi should inform Parliament about steps India is taking to protect Hindus in Bangladesh," maintained the Shiv Sena (UBT) leader.
Thackeray, whose party faced a severe drubbing in the state assembly polls, said while the BJP accuses his party of abandoning Hindutva, temples are not safe in India as well as Bangladesh.
"The Centre should tell what steps are being taken (to stop attacks on Hindus in Bangladesh). They (the government) should keep all discussions aside (in Parliament) and discuss this issue (attack on Hindus)," he emphasised.
Parliament is currently having its winter session.
If the PM stopped the Russia-Ukraine war, he should also stop atrocities on Hindus in Bangladesh, he maintained.
"The BJP gave a slogan of 'batenge toh katenge' (divided we will be destroyed) which is why Hindus voted for you (in state polls). But Hindus are being attacked in Bangladesh," Thackeray pointed out.
The former CM said despite requests, Modi has not been able to give time to Shiv Sena (UBT) MPs to discuss the matter with him.
Attacking Thackeray, state BJP president Bawankule said when the Centre enacted the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the Shiv Sena (UBT) took a timid stand.
The Act seeks to grant Indian citizenship to persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities on ground of religious persecution in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.
He said for the BJP, Hindutva is not just politics, but a matter of faith.
The state BJP president said when Congress leader Rahul Gandhi attacked Hindutva ideologue V D Savarkar, the Shiv Sena (UBT), an ally of the grand old party, did not utter a single word of condemnation.
Shiv Sena spokesperson and MLA Sanjay Shirsat said Thackeray is reverting to Hindutva because the Congress does not need the Shiv Sena (UBT) anymore, but it was too late for course correction as "much water has flowed under the bridge".
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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.
