- BJP leader Sujay Vikhe Patil blamed Donald Trump for delays in Maharashtra highway construction
- Tar shortage due to US-Iran tensions raised road construction costs by 2.5 times
- Contractors must transport tar from Delhi, causing project approval delays
US President Donald Trump is responsible for delay in highway construction work to connect two towns in Maharashtra and increase in alcohol consumption, according to a BJP leader in the state.
Sujay Vikhe Patil, the former MP from Ahmednagar, made a long arc of an argument to link Trump's "bad" policies to shortage of material needed for the infrastructure project.
"I swear to God, I have never seen such a crazy person in my entire life. In the morning he says stop, in the evening he drops bombs again... It is better for us not to get involved with that man," the BJP leader said.
"Today, due to the unavailability of tar, the contractor has to transport it from Delhi by vehicle. The cost has increased by two-and-a-half times, and approvals are needed for the escalated costs as well. These are technical issues... The troubles you face are the same troubles I face," he said, referring to the Ahilyanagar-Manmad Road project in Ahilyanagar.
"Due to the confusion caused by Trump's actions, the amount of alcohol consumed by certain people has increased," he added.
The US-Iran war has affected global energy supply, with the critical waterway Strait of Hormuz closed to normal traffic. The shortage of crude everywhere has affected the production of petroleum items, and bitumen - used in road works - is a byproduct of the oil refining process.
This was the link between Trump's bad policies and the problems the road work in Maharashtra is facing in the hyperlocal level, Patil, the son of Maharashtra minister Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil, said.
Iran, meanwhile, has said its doctrine is shifting from a defensive posture towards an offensive one, with the country's armed forces preparing to adopt "transformative approaches" and take necessary action at the appropriate time, Iranian Fars News Agency reported.
Al Jazeera reported the shift marked a significant transformation in Iran's military strategic doctrine and warned Tehran's adversaries to "anticipate strategic surprises."
