A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for collective participation of the people to help the country face global disruptions and challenges, urging measures to reduce the consumption of petroleum products and conserve foreign exchange reserves, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday said that running the country is “no longer within the reach of a compromised PM” and that it was a step to “escape accountability” by the government.
Rahul Gandhi said that the PM demanded sacrifices from the public yesterday – don’t buy gold, don’t go abroad, use less petrol, cut down on fertilizers and cooking oil, take the Metro for commute and work from home. “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,” said Gandhi, in a post on X.
He added, “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.”
Gandhi has on multiple occasions hit out at Modi over India’s foreign policy, and the trade deal with the US, calling the PM “compromised”. He has claimed that Modi was under pressure from the US and, hence, signed the India-US trade deal. He has alleged that the pressure is because of the “Epstein files and case against Gautam Adani in the US”.
Samajwadi Party 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.
Addressing a public meeting in Hyderabad, the PM asked citizens to use public transport as much as possible, increase the use of electric vehicles (EVs), revive Covid-era measures such as work-from-home arrangements and virtual meetings, avoid non-essential foreign travel and gold purchases for a year, and prioritise local goods, among other measures.
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Coming down heavily on the Congress, Modi said that the party has become more Left than the Leftists and more Muslim than the Muslim League. “Congress is being called MMC — Muslim League, Maoist Congress,” the Prime Minister said.
