New Delhi [India], March 13 (ANI): Congress MP Imran Masood alleged that democracy is under threat following a disruption that Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi, faced while speaking in the Lok Sabha.

Speaking to ANI, he said, 'Democracy is under threat. The same thing was repeated in the House today. They fume over the opposition's questions. Not allowing the opposition leader to speak in the House is undemocratic. They turned Rahul Gandhi's microphone off.'

'Nishikant Dubey was permitted to continue speaking beyond his allotted time without interruption', prompting allegations of unequal rule application against the opposition, stating that the rules are different for them,' he added.

Earlier, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju criticised the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, saying he ignored special permission to speak on the LPG shortage and instead raised another issue.

During his speech, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, said that the ongoing conflict in West Asia and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz could have serious consequences for India's energy security, saying that 'the pain has just started.'

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi said the war involving the United States, Israel and Iran is likely to have far-reaching global and domestic repercussions.

Gandhi warned that the impact is already beginning to be felt across the country, claiming that restaurants are shutting down and there is growing panic among people over LPG availability.

'A war has broken out in the Middle East. The United States, Israel and Iran are at war. This war is going to have far-reaching consequences. The central artery from where 20 % of the global oil flows, the Strait of Hormuz, has been closed. This is going to have tremendous repercussions, particularly for us, because a very large portion of our oil and natural gas comes through the Strait of Hormuz. The pain has just started. Restaurants are closing. There's widespread panic about LPG...This is only the beginning,' Gandhi said.

Gandhi further stressed that energy security forms the foundation of any nation's stability. He criticised the idea of allowing external powers to influence India's decisions regarding its energy partnerships.

'The foundation of every single nation is its energy security. Allowing the United States to decide who we buy oil from, who we buy gas from, and whether we can buy oil from Russia or not...Our relationship with different oil suppliers can be decided by us. This is what has been bartered...Why a nation the size of India would allow any other nation, the President of another nation, to give us permission to buy Russian oil, to decide who our relationships are with?' Gandhi said.

The BJP hit back at Rahul Gandhi, accusing him of diverting the discussion from the LPG shortage to unrelated issues. (ANI)