Qatar crisis not to hit gas supply, says minister

Union Minister of State for Power and Coal Piyush Goyal on Monday said LNG supply is unlikely to be affected in India following Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain severing ties with Qatar. The Gulf country is the largest exporter of LNG.

“We have not cut any relations with Qatar. So, we will continue to get supplies,” Goyal said in reply to a query from reporters in Bengaluru.

Four Arab nations - Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - have announced they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar, the world’s top seller of liquefied natural gas. They have accused Qatar of supporting terrorism.

Goyal termed the development as “an internal diplomatic issue” and India had not taken any sides in the matter. “We believe in good harmonious relations with all countries with which India has diplomatic ties,” he said.

To a query on CBI conducting search on NDTV founder Prannoy Roy’s residence, Goyal said the government does not interfere in any investigation. He said investigating agencies conduct raids only on the basis of “specific, precise and concrete” information. “Just because somebody is running a media house, or somebody is a former minister or a politician that does not give them immunity from investigation,” he said.

To another query, Goyal asserted that the NDA government has been taking all necessary steps to bring back normalcy in Jammu and Kashmir.

Four Arab nations - Bahrain, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates - have announced they would withdraw their diplomatic staff from Qatar, the world’s top seller of liquefied natural gas