Congress misinterpreted PM Modi’s austerity appeal: Telangana BJP Prez Ramchander Rao
Hyderabad, May 12 (TNT): Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Telangana State president N Ramchander Rao on Tuesday criticised the Congress party for allegedly misinterpreting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to citizens to adopt an austerity-driven lifestyle in view of the ongoing West Asia conflict.
Addressing a press conference at the party office here, Rao condemned criticism by Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, asserting that the Prime Minister’s call for self-reliance and financial discipline was aimed at safeguarding the nation’s future.
Referring to the Prime Minister’s address at a public meeting in Hyderabad on Monday, Rao said Modi had advised people to adopt measures such as reducing unnecessary fuel usage, limiting foreign travel and prioritising domestic products to tackle emerging global challenges arising from tensions in West Asia.
“The Prime Minister has urged citizens to use public transport, solar pumps and electric vehicles while supporting ‘Vocal for Local’. These are measures for environmental protection and fuel conservation that are practiced even by leaders in countries such as London, Singapore and Japan,” Rao said.
He added that individual financial discipline forms the foundation of a nation’s economic strength.
Taking a dig at the Congress party, the BJP leader recalled that former Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru, Lal Bahadur Shastri and Indira Gandhi had also appealed for public sacrifice during challenging periods.
Rao said Nehru had once urged citizens to reduce rice and bread consumption and observe weekly fasts, while Shastri had called for “Monday fasts” to address food shortages.
He further noted that Indira Gandhi had appealed to people not to buy gold in 1967 in the national interest.
He also referred to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s remark that “money does not grow on trees” while defending subsidy cuts during the UPA government.
Comparing the performance of the UPA and NDA governments, Rao claimed that India’s foreign exchange reserves had increased from 304 billion dollars in 2014 to 655 billion dollars currently and that the country had risen from the 10th to the 5th largest economy globally.
The BJP leader said that despite rising fuel prices globally due to the West Asia conflict, India had managed to maintain price stability through proactive governance.
He urged citizens to voluntarily follow the Prime Minister’s suggestions, including preferring domestic tourism over foreign travel and purchasing Indian-made products to strengthen the economy.
“Politics should never come before the welfare of the country,” Rao said, adding that the BJP functioned with a “Nation First” ideology.
BJP state official spokesperson N V Subhash, treasurer Vasudev Rao and other party leaders were also present at the press conference.
TNT TS
