Pune (Maharashtra) [India], May 12 : Maharashtra Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his recent appeal to the country to adopt indigenous products. He stated that the call for self-reliance is essential for the country's economic growth and follows the ideals once set by Mahatma Gandhi.
Bawankule, while interacting with reporters, said, "I express my gratitude to PM Modi. The call he has issued to the nation is a call for 'Swadeshi' (indigenous self-reliance). Mahatma Gandhi, too, had frequently issued this very call to the country... Rather than importing gold and silver from abroad, we can source them right here within our own nation. Many people tend to conduct business with foreign entities. Thus, as the Prime Minister has stated, the path of 'Swadeshi' is the path that will lead to making India a golden nation..."
Prime Minister Modi had while addressing a gathering in Secunderabad on Sunday, urged citizens to prioritise work from home, cut fuel consumption, avoid foreign travel for a year, adopt Swadeshi products, reduce cooking oil use, shift to natural farming and curb gold purchases.
He said the government is making relentless efforts to ensure that the impact of the West Asia war crisis on citizens is kept to an absolute minimum and urged people to reduce consumption of imported products and avoid personal activities that incur expenditure in foreign exchange.
The PM said said a huge amount of the country's money also goes abroad on gold imports and urged people to postpone the purchase of gold until the situation returns to normal.
"I appeal to every citizen of my country to reduce the use of petrol-diesel as much as possible. Use the metro, make greater use of electric buses and public transport, and promote carpooling. Those who have a car should take more people along in one vehicle. Digital technology has now made so many things easy that technology's assistance will also be very beneficial for us. It is essential that priority be given to virtual meetings and work from home in both government and private offices," he said.
Opposition has targetted PM for his remarks.
Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav yesterdayy alleged that Prime Minister's seven-point appeal to citizens in view of the ongoing West Asia crisis and to make India stronger and self-reliant was an "admission of failure" by the government, while also questioning the timing of the appeal after the elections.
In a post on X, Yadav wrote, "As soon as the elections ended, the 'crisis' came to mind! In fact, there's only one 'crisis' for the country, and its name is: 'BJP'.
"Questioning the government's economic management, Yadav said, "If so many restrictions had to be imposed, how will the 'jumla economy of five trillion dollars' ever come about? It seems the reins have completely slipped from the hands of the BJP government."
"The dollar is touching the skies, and the country's rupee is hurtling toward the depths," he added.
Yadav also questioned why the restrictions were announced only after the polls. He was referring to the BJP's extensive election campaign in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Assam, Keralam and Puducherry.
"Weren't the thousands of charter flights the BJP folks took during the elections flying on water? Weren't they staying in hotels, or cooking meals with photos of cylinders? Why didn't the BJP do their election campaigning just through video conferencing? Are all these restrictions only for the public?"
He stated that such appeals would "spread fear along with panic, unease, and despair in trade, business, and the markets, due to apprehensions of recession or inflation."
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