BANGALORE, June 15;Union Minister for Petroleum M. Veerappa Moily sought to clarify that the threats Oil Ministers had faced were not “personal attacks,” but aimed at obstructing “decision-making.”
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a function in Bangalore on Saturday, Mr. Moily said, the threats by oil import lobbies were aimed at thwarting “decision-making.” On Friday, Mr. Moily had stated that every successive Petroleum Minister stood threatened by “import lobbies” not to take decisions aimed at cutting down import of petroleum products.
Mr. Moily also lashed out at Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, recently anointed as the BJP’s election campaign committee chairman, calling him a challenge to his own party.
“Modi is a challenge to his own party and the NDA,” he said. “They can’t even dream of winning the 2014 elections,” he said, commenting on the BJP’S fortunes in the coming elections. About the third front, he said it was a challenge to the BJP alone.
