'Success of PM's strategic oil diplomacy', BJP hails 30-day waiver to purchase Russian oil

New Delhi: After the US announced that it is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil, the BJP on Friday termed the development a success of the “strategic oil diplomacy" under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and said it's a “big egg on the face of anti-India Rahul Gandhi and the Congress”.

The BJP also accused the Congress and Gandhi of creating panic by spreading “fake news on oil shortage”.

“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.

Amid the escalating conflict with Iran, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Thursday, "President (Donald) Trump's energy agenda has resulted in oil and gas production reaching the highest levels ever recorded. To enable oil to keep flowing into the global market, the Treasury Department is issuing a temporary 30-day waiver to allow Indian refiners to purchase Russian oil.”

“India is an essential partner of the United States, and we fully anticipate that New Delhi will ramp up purchases of US oil. This stop-gap measure will alleviate the pressure caused by Iran's attempt to take global energy hostage,” Bessent said in a post on X.

This “deliberately short-term measure” will not provide significant financial benefit to the Russian government, as it only authorises transactions involving oil already stranded at sea, Bessent said.

Reacting to the development, Bhandari said, "A big egg on the face of anti-India Rahul Gandhi and Congress, which wanted to create panic by spreading fake news on 'oil shortage'!"

"Yet again India's strategic oil diplomacy under PM Narendra Modi succeeds!" the BJP spokesperson added.