Indian Petroleum Minister Mani Shankar Aiyar on Thursday informed the Lok Sabha that there was no US "pressure" on India on Iran gas pipeline, however confirmed that at least two US officials had expressed reservations over the project.
Terming as "misplaced" the apprehensions of some members about "US pressure" against the project, the minister however confirmed that "at least two senior US officials have expressed reservations about the pipeline."
Aiyar asserted that the pipeline issue "has not been officially raised with us by the US authorities" and added that the position of Washington on India''s energy needs was "constructive".
Meanwhile, Bharatya Janata Party asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make government''s stand clear on the pipeline in view of the "misleading" statements of petroleum minister on the project.
Charging Mani Shankar Aiyar with trying to "cover up" the differences with the Prime Minister on the project in his reply in the Lok Sabha earlier on Thursday, BJP spokesman V K Malhotra said he has not addressed the concerns expressed by Singh during his recent US visit.
Manmohan Singh had stated that no consortium was ready to finance the project as it was fraught with risks and Iran will have to meet international obligations, Malhotra recalled.
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