Rahul Gandhi described Modi’s austerity appeal as “proof of failure,” saying the government was asking ordinary people to sacrifice because it could not manage the economy.
BY PC Bureau
May 11, 2026: Rahul Gandhi on Monday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of pushing the burden of the economic crisis onto ordinary citizens after the Prime Minister urged people to cut fuel usage, postpone gold purchases and avoid foreign travel amid rising global uncertainty.
Calling Modi’s appeal a sign of “government failure,” the Congress leader said the Centre was asking citizens to make sacrifices because it had failed to manage the economy and shield the country from the fallout of the ongoing West Asia conflict.
“Yesterday, Modi ji told people not to buy gold, not to travel abroad, use less petrol, reduce fertiliser and cooking oil consumption, take the metro and work from home. These are not suggestions — they are proof of failure,” Rahul Gandhi said in a post on X.
मोदी जी ने कल जनता से त्याग मांगे – सोना मत ख़रीदो, विदेश मत जाओ, पेट्रोल कम जलाओ, खाद और खाने का तेल कम करो, मेट्रो में चलो, घर से काम करो।
ये उपदेश नहीं – ये नाकामी के सबूत हैं।
12 साल में देश को इस मुक़ाम पर ला दिया है कि जनता को बताना पड़ रहा है – क्या ख़रीदे, क्या न…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 11, 2026
The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said the Prime Minister’s remarks exposed the limitations of his government after more than a decade in power.
“In 12 years, the country has been brought to such a stage that people are now being told what to buy, where to travel and how to live. Every crisis becomes the public’s responsibility while the government escapes accountability,” he said.
Gandhi also took a swipe at Modi personally, saying governing the country was now “beyond the remit of a compromised Prime Minister.”
The sharp exchange came a day after Modi, addressing a BJP rally in Hyderabad, appealed to citizens to adopt austerity measures to help reduce pressure on India’s foreign exchange reserves amid soaring global oil and fertiliser prices triggered by the conflict in West Asia.
ఈ ప్రపంచ సంక్షోభ సమయంలో, మన బాధ్యతలకే అత్యంత ప్రాధాన్యత ఇస్తూ కొన్ని సంకల్పాలు చేసుకుని, వాటిని ఎట్టి పరిస్థితుల్లోనూ నెరవేర్చాలి. ఈ సందర్భంలో నాకు ఒక ప్రత్యేక విజ్ఞప్తి ఉంది… pic.twitter.com/Ktp0I10Jvm
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) May 10, 2026
The Prime Minister urged people to reduce petrol and diesel consumption, use metro services and public transport more frequently, opt for carpooling, shift towards electric vehicles and continue practices such as work-from-home wherever possible.
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He also advised citizens to postpone foreign vacations and gold purchases for at least a year while reducing the use of edible oils and chemical fertilisers.
“We have to save foreign exchange by every possible means,” Modi said, drawing parallels with the behavioural changes people adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“During Covid, we became used to work-from-home, virtual meetings and video conferencing. The need of the hour is to adopt some of those practices again,” the Prime Minister said.
Modi described the measures as a collective national effort needed to tackle rising import costs and global supply disruptions caused by the escalating geopolitical crisis in the Middle East.
