New Delhi [India], April 12 : With the Congress taking potshots at the government over austerity measures suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in view of the West Asia crisis, political observers said that Congress leaders had made similar appeals to people and also brought legislations during their rule to deal with a national challenge or an economic situation.
PM Modi has, over the past two days, spoken about the government's efforts to ensure that the impact of the West Asia war crisis on citizens is kept to a minimum and has noted that the prices of imported goods are soaring and global supply chains have also been severely disrupted in view of the West Asia conflict.
He has urged citizens to reduce unnecessary gold purchases, moderate petrol and diesel consumption, and avoid wastage in cooking oil amid global economic uncertainty.
Political observers said the appeal was made as India faces global economic headwinds and is prudent. They said PM Modi's appeal has come from prudence in a strong economy navigating global turbulence.
They said India's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, asked Indians to donate their gold during the war with China as the economy was under pressure.
The then government, they said, ran this as a patriotic campaign and Congress highlighted this sacrifice for decades.
They said the Gold Control Act of 1962 imposed restrictions on gold ownership and trade and tighter provisions were made in 1968, when Indira Gandhi was Prime Minister, on owning gold bars or coins.
They said the efforts to wean people away from gold purchases were also made during the Congress-led UPA government as India's current account deficit rose.
In March 2013, the then Finance Minister P Chidambaram urged people to reduce gold purchases to control imports.
"I'm hoping that the people of India will heed my appeal and will not demand so much gold," Chidambaram had said.
They said Chidambaram made similar appeals subsequently and had also urged banks to advise their branches to not encourage customers to invest or buy gold.
"People who want to buy gold must realise that every ounce of gold is imported... You think you're buying gold in rupees, but actually you're buying gold in dollars," Chidambaram had said in June 2013.
With PM Modi appealing for cutting down on cooking oil consumption for health reasons and also because it is an imported commodity, the political observers said that similar suggestions had been made by Prime Ministers in the past to deal with a challenge.
They said apart from Nehru, former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri had also called for food austerity to deal with the prevailing challenges.
PM Modi also urged people to cut down on the consumption of diesel and petrol wherever possible.
Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had talked of fuel subsidy reaching unsustainable levels.
"World fuel prices are going up; we have tried to insulate you. Subsidies on fuel are very large, though, and the subsidy bill would have shot up to more than 2 lakh crores. Where will we find the money for this? Money does not grow on trees," Manmohan Singh had said in September 2012.
Congress leaders have been attacking the government following an appeal from PM Modi for austerity measures.
Party leader KC Venugopal accused PM Modi of pushing the common citizen into inconvenience, instead of building contingencies to ensure that the economy is unaffected by this global crisis.
Following PM Modi's suggestions, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh alleged that the "economic situation is far more serious than what official numbers suggest and what the PM and his colleagues have been claiming all this while".
He also said that PM Modi was "pleading with India's consumers to take the onus of minimising consumption after presiding over and actively enabling India's record dependence on crude oil and natural gas imports".
BJP leaders have accused Congress of "convenient amnesia", saying the party regards actions of its leaders during a challenge as "patriotism" but is terming austerity measures of the Modi government as "crisis".
BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi on Monday slammed opposition parties over their criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's appeals to citizens to avoid unnecessary dependence on imported goods in daily lives in view of the supply disruptions caused by the West Asia crisis and accused them of "spreading anarchy on social and political levels" for their political advantage.
PM Modi, who spoke at an event in Vadodara on Monday, noted that the world has been continuously passing through unstable circumstances over the past few years and the circumstances created by the West Asia conflict is one of the major crises of the decade.
He urged citizens to reduce spending on products that come from abroad and follow the "vocal for local" mantra.
PM Modi said the prices of imported goods are soaring and global supply chains have also been severely disrupted in view of the West Asia conflict.
The Prime Minister said the circumstances created by the West Asia conflict are one of the major crises of this decade and just as the country overcame the challenge of COVID, it will get through this crisis as well.
Noting that India spends lakhs of crores of rupees in foreign exchange to import many products from abroad, PM Modi said citizens must reduce the use of products that come from abroad and avoid unnecessary dependence on imported goods.
"Over the past few years, the world has been continuously passing through unstable circumstances. First, the crisis of COVID, then global economic challenges, and now the rising tensions in West Asia. The impact of all these situations is continuously falling on the entire world, and India is not untouched by it either," he said.
"If the COVID pandemic was the biggest crisis of this century, then the circumstances created by the war in West Asia are one of the major crises of this decade. When we together overcame the challenge of COVID, we will surely get through this crisis as well. The government is also continuously making efforts to ensure that its impact on the people of the country is minimal," he added.
PM Modi said there is a need for people to come together and fulfil our responsibility to reduce the burden on the country's resources.
"India spends lakhs of crores of rupees in foreign exchange to import many products from abroad. At the same time, the prices of imported goods are soaring, and global supply chains have also been severely disrupted. Just as every drop fills a pot, every small and big effort matters. We must reduce the use of products that come from abroad and avoid unnecessary dependence on imported goods in our daily lives, and also avoid such personal activities that involve spending foreign exchange," he said.
The Prime Minister urged people to reduce the use of petrol and diesel to the extent possible and suggested virtual meetings and work from home in government and private offices.
He 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
"A huge amount of the country's money also goes abroad on gold imports. Therefore, I would urge all of you, my fellow countrymen, to postpone the purchase of gold until the situation returns to normal. Today, the need of the hour is that we turn "Vocal for Local" into a people's movement. Instead of foreign goods, adopt local products. Empower the entrepreneurs of your village, your city, your country," he added.
PM Modi had made a similar appeal in Telangana on Sunday. He urged people to avoid foreign travel for tourism purposes and said there are so many places to visit in the country. He discouraged destination weddings abroad and suggested the Statue of Unity as a wedding destination in Gujarat.
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