Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi over his remarks calling for measures to be taken by citizens to overcome the challenges posed by the West Asia conflict, saying that the "compromised PM" is no longer capable of running the country.
The leader of opposition in the Lok Sabha said the prime minister's words were "evidence of failure".
"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," Gandhi said in an X post in Hindi.
"These are not words of counsel; they are evidence of failure," he said.
Over a span of 12 years, the country has been brought to such a juncture that the public now has to be told what to buy and what not to buy, where to go and where not to go, Gandhi said.
Time and again, they shift the responsibility onto the public to evade their own accountability, he said.
"The 'Compromised PM' is no longer capable of running the country," Gandhi said.
The Congress on Sunday attacked Modi over his remarks urging citizens to use petroleum products judiciously, saying the prime minister is clueless about ensuring India's energy security even after three months into the US-Iran war.
The opposition party said it is "shameless, reckless and downright immoral" that the prime minister is pushing people into inconvenience, rather than building contingency plans to ensure the country's economy is unaffected by this global crisis.
Emphasising that the Centre is trying to shield people from the adverse impact of the West Asia conflict, Prime Minister Modi on Sunday called for judicious use of fuel, postponement of gold purchases and foreign travel, among other measures, to strengthen the economy.
Addressing a rally organised by the Telangana BJP in Hyderabad, he suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increased use of electric vehicles, utilising railway services for parcel movement, and working from home to conserve foreign exchange amid the crisis in West Asia.
Stressing the need to save foreign exchange due to the crisis, Modi called for postponing the purchase of gold and foreign travel for one year.
"We have to save foreign exchange by any means," he said, adding that due to the West Asia conflict, prices of petrol and fertilisers have increased significantly.
When there is pressure on the supply chain, difficulties increase despite various government measures to address the situation, he had said. "That's why, during a global crisis, keeping the country above all else, we have to take resolutions," he had said.
"We got into work-from-home, virtual meetings, video conferencing, and many other methods during Covid-19. We got used to them. The need of the hour is to resume those methods," Modi had said.
He called for reduction in edible oil consumption, lowering the use of chemical fertilisers, promoting natural farming and Swadeshi products to save foreign exchange and make the country self-reliant.
Published on May 11, 2026