BeyondHeadlines News Desk
Amid falling rupee value against dollar and fears among investors, the proposal of a union minister to buy Iranian oil looks a viable alternative to save billions of dollar for India.
Welfare Party of India (WPI ) has come in support of the suggestion of Union Minister V Veerappa Moily to import oil from Iran, which is expressed in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister P. Chidambaram.
The Petroleum Minister had clarified that by enacting his proposal India would save 8.5 billion dollar while doing payment to Iran for oil import in Indian currency.
WPI General Secretary Dr. S.Q.R. Ilyas stated: “This would not only boost the sliding national currency vis-à-vis dollar but also will strengthen the Indo-Iran bilateral relations under severe stress due to US compulsions and diktats.”
In addition, the implementation of Moily’s proposal is expected to give relief to the common man from frequent hike of fuel prices, noted Dr. Ilyas.
In the last fiscal, India reportedly imported 13 million tons of oil from Iran. As per unverified sources 52% of Indian dollar requirements go to oil imports.
“If the same amount of oil is imported this year from Iran by paying Indian rupees instead of dollar, the Indian exchequer could save 8.5 billion dollar,” WPI noted in a release.
Dr. Ilyas has wondered over the huge money that India could save by importing Iranian oil and said the nation has wasted precious money during the last years “only to appease White House masters, who imposed sanction against Iran”.
The party has urged Manmohan Singh to approve Moily’s proposal at the earliest as BJP and the left parties have already extended their support to it.
“Welfare party reminded the Prime Minister that as per market economy principles, India had the right to import oil from anywhere at its benefit and this right should never be conceded to any power.”
Dr. Ilyas has criticized Mr. Singh and Congress-led UPA for incurring heavy fiscal loss to the nation by withdrawing from the India-Iran Pakistan gas pipe line project which would have otherwise brought heavy gain.
