Senior Congress leader and Rajyasabha MP Shaktisinh Gohil launched a sharp attack on the Narendra Modi government accusing it of destroying India’s energy self-reliance through alleged mismanagement of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), mishandling Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) and pushing the country into an alarming fuel crisis.
Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Gohil said that ordinary citizens in Gujarat — particularly transporters and farmers in the Saurashtra region — are already facing diesel shortages at petrol pumps. According to him, fuel dealers are allegedly being informally pressured by oil companies to restrict diesel sales while aggressively pushing the sale of engine oil and related products.
He also mocked what he described as the contradiction between the Prime Minister’s public messaging and government conduct. Referring to repeated appeals for carpooling and fuel conservation, Gohil alleged that the government itself indulges in extravagant fuel consumption through large political convoys and air displays. He scoffed at PM Modi’s international travel, after Modi urged Indians not to go abroad.
“ONGC Is Being Systematically Weakened”
Gohil said ONGC, India’s flagship state-owned oil exploration company established during the era of Jawaharlal Nehru and later expanded significantly under Rajiv Gandhi had been systematically destroyed by Modi.
He alleged that critical oil extraction infrastructure has been neglected under the present administration. Citing technical data, he claimed that water injection operations in major offshore oilfields such as Mumbai High, Neelam and Heera have been drastically reduced. He offered government data to support his argument.
Water injection is a scientific process used in oilfields to maintain underground pressure and maximize crude oil recovery. According to Gohil, the reduction in this process has severely damaged production capacity and caused India to lose massive quantities of crude oil output since 2014.
He further alleged that maintenance practices such as “pigging” — the cleaning of pipelines — and chemical treatment of water systems have also been ignored. This neglect, he said, has allegedly allowed bacterial contamination and corrosion to spread inside oilfield systems, calling it an “invisible corruption” hurting national energy security.
Revival Of The GSPC Controversy
The Congress leader also revived one of Gujarat’s most controversial energy-sector episodes — the claims surrounding the Krishna-Godavari Basin gas discovery made during Modi’s tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister.
In 2005, the Gujarat government had announced that Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) had discovered nearly 20 trillion cubic feet (TCF) of natural gas in the KG Basin, a claim then projected as a breakthrough that could transform India’s energy landscape.
Gohil alleged that the discovery was fake and never materialized. Referring to information obtained through RTI responses from the Directorate General of Hydrocarbons, he claimed that commercially recoverable gas was never actually extracted from the field.
According to him, the hype around the project enabled GSPC to accumulate debt worth nearly Rs 19,000 crore. He alleged that public money was subsequently diverted into risky overseas oil block acquisitions in countries such as Yemen, Indonesia and Australia.
Gohil further claimed that the burden of the financially weakened GSPC was eventually shifted onto ONGC, effectively transferring losses from one state-run entity to another.
Fuel Prices, Rupee Weakness And Import Dependence
The Congress leader also linked India’s rising fuel prices and growing import dependence to what he termed “economic mismanagement” and an unstable foreign policy framework.
He argued that India could have reduced its reliance on expensive imported crude if domestic production infrastructure had been properly maintained and modernized. Instead, he claimed, declining domestic output has left the country vulnerable to global oil shocks and currency depreciation.
Gohil additionally pointed to the weakening rupee and rising fuel inflation as indicators of structural weaknesses in economic governance.
Political Confrontation Expands Beyond Energy
During the interaction with journalists, Gohil also criticized recent actions against Congress leaders by the Assam Police, describing them as politically motivated intimidtion tactics. He compared such actions to authoritarian methods aimed at silencing dissent.
He also reacted strongly to remarks attributed to Yogi Adityanath regarding Bakrid prayers on roads. Gohil accused the ruling party of deliberately triggering polarizing debates whenever it seeks to divert attention from economic distress, unemployment and governance failures.
Background: Why The GSPC Issue Remains Politically Sensitive
The GSPC controversy has shadowed Gujarat politics for over a decade. The 2005 gas discovery announcement was celebrated as a landmark achievement and was heavily promoted at the time as evidence of Gujarat’s emergence as an energy powerhouse.
However, questions later emerged over the commercial viability of the reserves, the massive debt accumulated by GSPC, and the financial decisions surrounding overseas acquisitions and exploration contracts.
Critics have long argued that the project became a symbol of inflated projections and opaque financial decisions. Supporters of the government, however, have maintained that energy exploration is inherently risky and that setbacks are common in the oil and gas industry globally.
The ONGC-related allegations are also politically significant because the company remains central to India’s domestic energy security. Any suggestion of falling production, poor maintenance, or institutional weakening directly feeds into broader debates over privatization, energy dependence and economic governance.
The latest remarks by Gohil indicate that the Congress party intends to place fuel prices, energy security and public-sector management at the center of its political attacks against the Modi government in the coming months.
Also Read: Narender, Why Surrender? Congress MP Shaktisinh Gohil Slams Modi For Bowing Down to Trump https://www.vibesofindia.com/narender-why-surrender-congress-mp-shaktisinh-gohil-slams-modi-for-bowing-down-to-trump/
