NEW DELHI, July 28: Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday informed parliament that there was no US ‘pressure’ on New Delhi about the Iran-Pakistan-India gas pipeline project.
Describing the apprehensions of some legislators about US pressure as misplaced, the minister, however, confirmed that “at least two senior US officials have expressed reservations about the pipeline”.
Mr Aiyar asserted that the pipeline issue “has not been officially raised with us by the US authorities” and said the public position of Washington on India’s energy needs was constructive.
Meanwhile, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make the government’s stand clear on the project in view of ‘misleading’ statements by the petroleum minister on the issue.
Accusing Mr Aiyar of trying to cover up his differences with the prime minister on the project in his reply in the Lok Sabha, BJP spokesman V.K. Malhotra said the minister had not addressed the concerns expressed by Mr Singh during his recent visit to the US. “With his repeated statements that the project is on, Aiyar is misleading the country.—APP
