Rahul Gandhi attacks PM Modi as lawmakers stage demonstration highlighting cooking fuel crisis
March 13, 2026: Opposition lawmakers staged a protest inside the Parliament complex on Friday over reports of a nationwide shortage of LPG cylinders, accusing the government of failing to address the growing fuel crisis. Members from several parties, including the Indian National Congress, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, All India Trinamool Congress and Samajwadi Party, gathered near the Makar Dwar inside Parliament and raised slogans against the government. Among the protesters was Priyanka Gandhi, who sat beside a symbolic brick stove to highlight the difficulties households face in accessing cooking gas.
Senior Congress leader Rahul Gandhi intensified the criticism and targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the crisis. Gandhi claimed that while the Prime Minister had urged citizens not to panic about the LPG shortage, he himself appeared worried about other controversies, referencing issues such as the Epstein files and the Adani case in the United States. The remarks added to the political heat surrounding the fuel shortage.
Responding earlier, Modi had appealed for calm on March 11 and said the government was working to manage the disruption. He acknowledged that the shortage of commercial LPG cylinders was beginning to affect sectors such as hotels and restaurants in several cities. As global energy markets face turbulence and supply routes remain uncertain, the LPG shortage has quickly turned into a political flashpoint, with opposition parties arguing that ordinary households—especially women who depend on LPG for daily cooking—are bearing the brunt of the crisis.