New Delhi: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for urging austerity on fuel, gold purchases and foreign travel due to the West Asia crisis, accusing him of governmental incompetence and labelling him a “compromised PM”.
The Lok Sabha Leader of the Opposition charged that the administration was now forcing ordinary citizens to bear the weight of its own shortcomings, as reported by The Federal.
Blame Game & Breakdown
Rahul portrayed the Prime Minister’s appeal as less advice and more a stark confession of unpreparedness for economic turbulence.
“Yesterday, Modi Ji called upon the public to make sacrifices — do not buy gold, do not travel abroad, consume less petrol, cut down on fertilisers and cooking oil, take the Metro, and work from home,” Rahul said in a post on X.
He contended that India had reached a point where people were being directed on consumption, travel, and spending habits.
“These are not words of counsel; they are evidence of failure,” he said, adding that after more than a decade in office, the government was now asking the public to absorb the cost of what he described as policy mismanagement.
Rahul accused the regime of habitually dodging blame by shoving accountability onto the masses.
“Time and again, they shift the responsibility onto the public to evade their own accountability. The ‘Compromised PM’ is no longer capable of running the country,” he said.
Akhilesh Joins Fray
Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav piled on, blasting the Centre’s pitch as a confession of flops in economy and diplomacy alike.
In a post on X, Yadav zeroed in on the post-poll timing. “As soon as elections are over, the government suddenly remembered the ‘crisis’. In reality, there is only one crisis for the country and its name is BJP,” he said.
The former Uttar Pradesh CM challenged the fiscal vision: How can India hit five-trillion-dollar status with curbs on spending?
“So many restrictions are being imposed, then how will the much-publicised ‘‘five trillion dollar economy’ become a reality? It appears the BJP government has completely lost control,” Yadav said.
He spotlighted the rupee’s plunge versus the dollar’s climb, predicting market mayhem.
“The dollar is touching the sky while the Indian rupee is sinking deeper,” he said, cautioning that these pleas risked sparking investor flight.
Oil Surge Sinks Markets
Opposition barbs escalated as share markets tumbled under crude rallies and West Asia instability — India’s heavy oil import reliance amplifying the pain.
BSE Sensex shed over 800 points in early trade; Nifty 50 slipped more than 230, mirroring Asia’s weakness and global energy cost spikes.
Brent crude pushed past $105 per barrel following impasse in US-Iran diplomacy.
Analysts highlighted oil price climbs—straining forex reserves—and risks of an expanded current account deficit from prolonged shocks; foreign institutional investors (FIIs), key market movers, persisted as net sellers, dragging down frontline indices.
PM Pushes Forex Safeguards
At a rally in Hyderabad on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi implore the public to embrace austerity, buffering against West Asia shocks that threaten India’s forex pile.
Pushing reserve conservation, he recommended slashing petrol/diesel consumption, pausing gold imports and abroad jaunts, boosting public transit, and reviving Covid WFH norms. “We have to save foreign exchange by any means,” the Prime Minister said.
