‘We’ll overcome LPG crisis like COVID,’ Modi says in Tamil Nadu

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday (March 11) addressed a massive NDA rally in Tiruchirappalli, directly addressing the growing LPG cylinder shortage gripping Tamil Nadu and assuring citizens there is “no need to panic”.

In what appeared to be his first public reaction to the crisis triggered by the escalating West Asia conflict, Modi declared that the country would rebound just as it did during the coronavirus pandemic.

“Even from the cylinder shortage crisis, we will recover and come out stronger; we are the people who witnessed the corona crisis,” Modi said in English. “Cooking gas cylinder shortage – people need not fear. Do not panic.”

Hotels and eateries shut shop

The remarks came hours after hotels and restaurants in Chennai and other parts of the state declared holidays or curtailed menus due to an acute shortage of commercial LPG cylinders. The crisis has been linked to supply disruptions caused by the ongoing US-Iran tensions in the Gulf.

Just a day earlier, on March 10, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin wrote to Modi urging immediate Central intervention. In the letter, Stalin highlighted the potential fallout of the West Asia war on Tamil Nadu, including risks to Tamil residents and fishermen in the Gulf and the looming LPG shortage affecting households, hotels, MSMEs and commercial establishments.

Also read: Panic buying, woodfire switch: How LPG crisis fear has hit the states

Stalin demanded “necessary alternative arrangements” to ensure uninterrupted supply and protect the public from price spikes or unavailability. He also sought enhanced power supply to offset any industrial disruptions. The appeal followed an emergency review meeting at the Secretariat, where officials warned that domestic cylinder stocks may last only three weeks if commercial demand surges.

The Chennai Hotels Association is planning a meeting with Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. Similar concerns have been raised in neighbouring southern states too.

PM attacks DMK government

While assuring citizens on the gas issue, Modi used the platform to launch a blistering attack on the ruling DMK government ahead of the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections. He accused the party of turning Tamil Nadu into a “family fiefdom” and indulging in what he called “scientific corruption.”

“DMK is a family rule. Ministers may change, MLAs may change, but power remains only with one family,” Modi thundered. “DMK is famous only for scientific corruption.”

He contrasted development under the NDA with the previous Congress era, claiming Tamil Nadu has received four times more funds under the BJP-led government. “Under the NDA regime, Tamil Nadu has been allocated Rs 3 lakh crore. DMK claims it brought people’s democracy, but it has betrayed the people,” Modi said.

Also read: Beyond oil and LPG: How Iran conflict is wrecking multiple sectors

“The responsibility given by the people has been misused. Everything is going only to one family. Only one family is growing because DMK is indulging in scientific corruption. When jobs are sold for cash, the dreams of the poor are crushed,” he added.

Modi also invoked the poetic imagery of the Cauvery river swelling in the Aadi month, saying: “Just as the Cauvery overflows in Aadi month, a wave for regime change is rising during election time.”

Union Minister Piyush Goyal, who was also present in Trichy, echoed the line, stating there is “no fuel shortage in India” and expressing confidence that the NDA would sweep the upcoming polls and end the “corrupt Stalin government”.

DMK hits back

The DMK and its allies were quick to criticise the Centre’s handling of the crisis, accusing the Modi government of failing to anticipate or mitigate the impact of its own foreign policy on southern states. DMK leaders described Modi’s Trichy speech as “election rhetoric” that dismissed a genuine crisis instead of announcing concrete relief measures.

“The Prime Minister finally reacted, but only to politicise the issue. While people are queuing up for gas and hotels are shutting down, the Centre is busy campaigning and denying the problem,” a senior DMK functionary said.

Also read: LPG shortage: Consumers turn to induction stoves as backup

Chief Minister Stalin’s office pointed out that the letter was sent 24 hours ago seeking urgent action, yet the PM chose to address the shortage only in passing during an election rally. “The West Asia conflict is not of Tamil Nadu’s making. The Centre must step in with alternative imports, subsidies or emergency stocking instead of asking people not to panic,” sources close to the CM said.

LPG flashpoint

AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami, though part of the NDA, had also urged the Modi government earlier to act swiftly on the LPG crisis. Opposition parties across the spectrum accused the Centre of “total neglect” of Tamil Nadu’s needs despite repeated pleas.

With the 2026 Assembly polls looming, the LPG shortage has become a fresh flashpoint. The DMK is framing it as proof of the Modi government’s “step-motherly treatment” towards the state, while the NDA is projecting the crisis as temporary and blaming global factors beyond its control.

As queues grow longer at gas agencies and restaurants cut operations, Tamil Nadu waits to see whether the Centre’s promised “recovery like COVID” materialises before the domestic supply situation worsens further.