India News | Crude Politics: Centre Hails US Oil Waiver as 'diplomatic Win'; Opposition Slams 'strategic Surrender'

New Delhi [India], March 6 (ANI): The decision by the US Treasury Department to grant a 30-day temporary waiver (effective March 5 to April 4, 2026), citing disruptions in global oil supplies due to the Iran-Israel conflict, allowing Indian refiners to purchase stranded Russian crude, has sparked a fierce domestic political debate.

While the government frames the move as a pragmatic victory for energy security amid the escalating West Asia conflict, the Opposition argues it exposes a newfound Indian dependency on Washington's "permission."

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The ruling BJP party hails this as a "diplomatic win" and a success of PM Modi's strategic oil diplomacy, while the opposition Congress party slams it as "strategic surrender" and "American blackmail."

What seemed to be a short-term relief for India to avoid potential risks linked to energy supply disruptions in the Middle East quickly posed a question mark on the country's "sovereignty" as the Opposition leaders launched scathing attacks on the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led BJP government, calling him "compromised" yet again.

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US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, on Thursday (local time), while announcing the waiver, said that the waiver only authorises "transactions involving oil already stranded at sea," adding that the US expects India to "ramp up purchases of US oil" once the crisis is averted

India sources nearly 40 per cent of its oil imports from the Middle East, with a significant portion transported through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz.

Reacting to the news, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, took a jibe at PM Modi and the Central Government over the question of sovereignty and described Indian foreign policy as "exploitation of a compromised individual."

"India's foreign policy emerges from the collective will of our people. It should be rooted in our history, our geography, and our spiritual ethos based on Satya and Ahimsa. What we are witnessing today is not policy. It is the result of the exploitation of a compromised individual," Gandhi wrote on X.

Similarly, Congress MP Jairam Ramesh also cornered the Central government and termed the waiver "American blackmail."

He questioned the silence of the Centre and Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the issue, saying that the statement issued by US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was "extremely catastrophic."

Labelling PM Modi as "afraid and nervous", Ramesh said that the opposition has demanded a debate on the workings of the Foreign Ministry.

"Why are our Prime Minister, External Affairs Minister, and Petroleum Minister silent? This is an attack on our sovereignty. An American Minister says that we are granting permission to India to buy oil from Russia for 30 days. In 1971, the same language was used by Nixon and Kissinger. Indira Gandhi gave them a fitting reply. In present times, the Prime Minister goes to Israel after which the attack on Iran happens," Ramesh told ANI.

Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge recalled PM Modi's "Main desh nahi jhukne doonga" (would not let the nation bow down), calling it a mere slogan to win elections. He strongly criticised the PM claiming that he was being "blackmailed" by the US.

Additionally, Congress MP KC Venugopal on Friday criticised the Centre over the US waiver granted to Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, calling it a humiliating development for India's sovereignty and international standing.

He said it was deeply humiliating that India needed a US "waiver" to purchase oil from a long-standing partner like Russia.

Venugopal added that India must take a strong and independent stance in deciding what is in its supreme national interest, rather than allowing other countries to dictate its foreign policy or force it to seek permission for such decisions.

Furthermore, Chairman of Congress' Media and Publicity Department, Pawan Khera, called the 30-day waiver "alms" for India.

"When is a waiver given? When someone is bound by an agreement. Has the agreement been signed? When there is no agreement, what is the need for a waiver? They have given us 30 days' worth of alms, and they (BJP) are celebrating," the Congress leader said.

Meanwhile, former Delhi CM and Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, angered over the waiver, demanded the resignation of the Prime Minister, questioning why India needed permission from the United States to buy oil from Russia.

He alleged that in recent months the country had witnessed the Prime Minister repeatedly "bowing" before Donald Trump and failing to speak up strongly.

"Who is America to grant India permission to buy oil from Russia? Why does India even need permission from America? In the past few months, the countrymen have watched in great anguish as, one after another, at every step, you have bowed before Trump, and you didn't even have the courage to speak up in front of him. Mr. Modi, what exactly is this compulsion of yours that has you bowing before Trump?," Kejriwal wrote on 'X'.

AAP Delhi President Saurabh Bhardwaj asserted that the move represents a "humiliation" for India, adding that, " PM Modi has made this country a slave again."

Moreover, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin lambasted the Narendra Modi government over the waiver and the sinking of the unarmed IRIS Dena that claimed the lives of nearly 87 sailors, saying that the central government looks "totally compromised" on the country's strategic autonomy and an independent foreign policy.

"When the United States decides to allow India to purchase Russian oil for just 30 days, it raises a fundamental question. Why should India need another country's approval to secure its own energy needs?" Stalin questioned in a post on X.

Voicing similar concerns, former External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshidsaid said that the Bharatiya Janata Party-led (BJP) government at the Centre doesn't know its own foreign policy, and there was no visible outcome of the diplomatic efforts.

"It is very dangerous, that from time to time we will grant you permission on what you can do and what you cannot do. Has India's condition now become such that it would act only with the permission of others? Does India no longer have the right to act in its own interest? This is a question. There should be a discussion on this," Khurshid told ANI.

Meanwhile, the BJP on Friday described the move as a success of the "strategic oil diplomacy" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said it was a "big egg on the face of anti-India Rahul Gandhi and the Congress."

"Rahul Gandhi and Congress hate seeing India act with strategic restraint and strategic clarity under Prime Minister Narendra Modi," BJP national spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari said in a post on X.

With Brent crude surging toward $85, the ruling party argues that securing this oil prevents a massive hike in domestic petrol and diesel prices. Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri recently noted that India's strategic reserves are well-stocked, but this waiver provides the "necessary flexibility" to navigate the current maritime crisis in the Middle East.

Notably, according to sources, India is reviewing its energy situation twice a day and is in a very comfortable position regarding its energy security. India's current stock position is also seen to be comfortable, with stock being replenished every day.

As per the sources, there is no shortage of LPG or LNG, as well as crude oil, in the world.

This comes amid escalating tensions in West Asia after a joint US-Israel military strike on February 28 on Iranian territory resulted in the death of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other senior figures, prompting a fierce response from Tehran.

In retaliation, Iran launched waves of drone and missile attacks across multiple Arab countries as the conflict now entered its seventh day. (ANI)

(The above story is verified and authored by ANI staff, ANI is South Asia's leading multimedia news agency with over 100 bureaus in India, South Asia and across the globe. ANI brings the latest news on Politics and Current Affairs in India & around the World, Sports, Health, Fitness, Entertainment, & News. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)