Srinagar, Mar 7: National Conference president Farooq Abdullah launched a blistering attack on the Central government Saturday over a U.S.-granted waiver allowing Indian refiners to keep snapping up discounted Russian crude oil, branding it a shameful erosion of national independence amid the US-Israel-Iran war’s oil supply mayhem that’s sent global prices into overdrive.
The octogenarian politician—himself a former Chief Minister and Union Minister—didn’t mince words with reporters in Srinagar: “We are not dependent. The tragedy is I do not know why they are making us dependent. It is a question of the independence of this country.” He hammered home that India must call its own shots on energy security, free from dictates by Washington or any global powerbroker eyeing New Delhi as a pawn in their geopolitical chessboard.
Abdullah dug into history for ammunition, invoking the UPA era under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh when America leaned hard on India to back its UN votes—or risk torpedoing the landmark Indo-US nuclear deal. “You know what Singh said? He said it is a decision of India and India will make its own decision, we will do what is good for the country,” Abdullah recounted, painting Singh as the gold standard of assertive autonomy against foreign arm-twisting.
The flashpoint? The U.S. State Department’s temporary waiver—explicitly tied to the Middle East meltdown with Iranian missiles raining on Israel, a U.S. submarine sinking an Iranian warship in the Indian Ocean, and drone strikes cratering Dubai’s airport runway—greenlighting India’s continued Russian oil binge. New Delhi confirmed Saturday it’s full steam ahead on imports from Moscow, a lifeline as Qatar’s gas flows stutter and Hormuz Strait tanker traffic crawls under missile threats, pushing Brent crude past $110/barrel and stoking India’s inflation fears.
But to Abdullah, it’s less bargain bonanza than begging bowl diplomacy. “This is a tragedy. We have noticed before also during Manmohan Singh’s tenure,” he thundered, arguing the waiver underscores a creeping vassalage—India, the world’s third-largest oil importer, reduced to seeking Washington’s nod for cheap Urals crude that powers its refineries from Jamnagar to Kochi. Critics in his camp whisper of strategic naivete: Why not drill domestic wells harder, fast-track renewables, or court Canada/Australia LNG as alternatives?
NC circles see Abdullah’s salvo as a Valley-specific signal too—J&K’s power plants guzzle oil and gas, and blackouts from supply snags hit hard amid tourism revival bids. With 2026 Assembly polls looming, the patriarch’s rhetoric revives his party’s “self-respect” pitch against Delhi’s writ, contrasting PM Modi’s Trump-era bromance where energy pragmatism trumps sovereignty sermons.
As refiners like Reliance and Nayara exhale relief—saving billions on discounted Russian barrels—the debate rages: Smart realpolitik or sovereignty sellout? Abdullah’s clarion call lands amid J&K student evacuations from Iran and Gulf NRIs on edge, reminding that India’s energy hunger isn’t just economic—it’s existential, and no foreign chit should script its menu.
