India Starts Feeling Crunch of Low LPG Supplies; Jaishankar Says India Approved Docking Facilities to Three Iranian Ships; Opposition to Seek Impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar
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March 9, 2026
Sidharth Bhatia
On the day it was first attacked by Israel and the US, Iran made a request to New Delhi that three of its vessels be given permission to dock in Indian ports, a day after which India granted its approval, and four days after which the IRINS Lavan arrived in Kochi, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar said in parliament on Monday. “We believe that this was the right thing to do and the Iranian foreign minister has expressed his country’s thanks for this humane gesture,” he said in identical remarks to the Lok and Rajya Sabhas. However Jaishankar did not say why if permission for three vessels was granted only one of them – the Lavan – availed it. He also did not mention the US’s sinking of the IRIS Dena off Sri Lanka last week. Neither did the minister mention former Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei by name in his remarks. And what he said in parliament today is at variance with his statement at the Raisina Dialogue on Saturday, where he suggested that just one Iranian vessel had sought entry into India.
Meanwhile the opposition has demanded a comprehensive discussion on the conflict triggered by the US-Israeli attack in parliament, as opposed to having a solitary statement made by the government.
In a first, opposition parties are set to submit a notice seeking the impeachment of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, just as the Lok Sabha gears up to discuss a no-confidence motion against Speaker Om Birla, Sravasti Dasgupta reports. A senior Trinamool Congress MP involved in the plan described it as “teamwork” that took two weeks to coordinate. The move comes as West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee stages a sit-in dharna in Kolkata since March 6, protesting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls – a process she claims has affected countless families. Banerjee had earlier signaled that the TMC would back any attempt to remove Kumar. Sources told The Wire on Monday that the impeachment notice is likely to be submitted immediately after the Birla no-confidence debate, underscoring the opposition’s readiness to escalate the standoff over the electoral body.
Global oil prices surged to nearly $120 a barrel on Monday before slipping back to just over $100, as the conflict in Iran shows no signs of abating. Some experts warn that prices could hit $150 if tankers remain unable or unwilling to transit the Strait of Hormuz. Brent crude, the international benchmark, briefly crossed the $100 mark for the first time since Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, reigniting inflation fears in the US and worldwide. Israeli strikes on Iranian oil fields and Iranian drone attacks elsewhere have disrupted production, prompting The Wall Street Journal to describe the situation as “the most severe shock to energy markets since the 1970s.”
In response, G7 countries convened an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the sharp surge in global oil prices and their wider economic consequences, pledging to take “necessary measures” while, for now, refraining from tapping into their emergency oil stockpiles. India, however, will not participate in the IEA-led initiative to release strategic reserves, citing comfortable fuel stocks and no plans for export caps.
As for the dent that India’s coffers will suffer due to the rise in oil prices,
