‘Proof of his failure’: Opposition questions timing of PM’s austerity appeal to people

“These aren’t sermons, these are proofs of failure. In 12 years, he’s brought the country to such a pass that the public has to be told what to buy, what not to buy, where to go, where not to go,” Gandhi said in a post on X.

“Every time, they shift the responsibility onto the people so they can escape accountability themselves. Running the country is no longer within the reach of a compromised PM,” said the LoP.

Gandhi has on multiple occasions hit out at PM Modi over India’s foreign policy and the trade deal with the US. He claimed that the PM was under pressure from the US and, hence, signed the India-US trade deal. He had also claimed that the pressure was because of the “Epstein files and case against industrialist Gautam Adani in the US”.

Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge said at a time when people are struggling under the weight of adversity, the PM is busy lecturing the country on the virtues of savings. “When the conflict in West Asia erupted on February 28, the Congress party highlighted every critical aspect of the crisis — the devastation of the economy; the continuous depreciation of Rupee; soaring prices and shortages of petrol, diesel and LPG; scarcity of fertilisers for farmers; the looming threat to food security; the rising cost of medicines; the crisis facing MSMEs; and much more,” Kharge said.

SP chief Akhilesh Yadav echoed Gandhi. He said the Prime Minister’s appeals are an “admission of failure”. “As soon as elections are over, the government suddenly remembers the ‘crisis’. In reality, there is only one crisis for the country and its name is BJP,” he said in a post on X. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister questioned how India would become a $5 trillion economy if the Centre was forced to impose curbs.

TMC Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha Sagarika Ghose told The Indian Express that the PM’s and BJP’s “hypocrisy isn’t hidden anymore”. “When elections were on, the BJP used helicopters, did roadshows, and ran mega campaigns. Now that votes are counted, the PM on the eve of a five-nation luxury tour instructs citizens to stop going abroad for vacations,” she said.

AAP Rajya Sabha member Sanjay Singh said the PM himself should “stop doing roadshows, holding public rallies and going on foreign trips to save fuel”.

Addressing a public meeting in Hyderabad, the PM asked citizens to use public transport as much as possible, increase the use of electric vehicles, revive Covid-era measures such as work from home and virtual meetings, avoid non-essential foreign travel gold purchases for a year, prioritise local goods, among other measures.