India has withdrawn its subsidy on kerosene and cooking gas to Bhutan,
putting the Himalayan kingdom in a crisis, said a newspaper report on
Saturday.
According to the report, prices of the two fuels have
risen sharply in Bhutan as result of the decision and its government has
written to India's External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on the
issue.
It is not known why India took such a step, but there is
speculation that the move aims at apparently punishing the Bhutanese
government for hobnobbing with China.
The country's Prime
Minister Jigme Thinley recently met his Chinese counterpart Li Keqiang
in Brazil's capital Rio de Janeiro and imported 20 buses from the other
neighbour.
The report, quoting a state-run Indian Oil
Corporation official, said the subsidy was ended after the government
said it would not reimburse the subsidy component of kerosene and LPG.