A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for collective public participation to help India navigate global disruptions, urging citizens to reduce petroleum consumption and conserve foreign exchange reserves, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi on Monday launched a sharp attack, saying governing the country is “no longer within the reach of a compromised Prime Minister” and alleging that the appeal reflects an attempt to “escape accountability”.
In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said the Prime Minister had on Sunday asked citizens to make sacrifices—such as avoiding gold purchases, limiting foreign travel, using less petrol, reducing fertilizer and cooking oil consumption, and adopting Metro travel and work-from-home practices. “These aren’t sermons – these are proofs of failure,” Gandhi said, adding that after 12 years in power, the situation had reached a point where people were being told “what to buy, what not to buy, where to go, where not to go.”
He further alleged, “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.”
Rahul Gandhi has repeatedly criticised Prime Minister Modi over India’s foreign policy approach and the India–US trade deal, alleging that the Prime Minister is “compromised”. He has also claimed that external pressure, including references to the “Epstein files and the case against Gautam Adani in the United States”, influenced the agreement—claims the government has not officially responded to in detail.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also echoed the criticism, calling the Prime Minister’s appeal an “admission of failure”. In a post on X, he said, “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 also questioned how India could achieve its $5 trillion economy target if such restrictions were being suggested.
Earlier, addressing a public meeting in Hyderabad, Prime Minister Modi had urged citizens to rely more on public transport, increase the use of electric vehicles, revive Covid-era practices such as work-from-home arrangements and virtual meetings, avoid non-essential foreign travel and gold purchases for a year, and prioritise locally made goods.
In the same address, the Prime Minister also mounted a strong political attack on the Congress, saying the party had become “more Left than the Leftists and more Muslim than the Muslim League”. He further referred to the Congress as “MMC — Muslim League, Maoist Congress”.