Daijiworld Media Network – New Delhi

New Delhi, May 11: The BJP on Monday launched a sharp attack on Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi over his criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s austerity appeal amid the ongoing West Asia conflict, accusing the Congress of focusing on power politics instead of nation-building.

The ruling party’s response came after Gandhi targeted Modi for advising citizens on ways to cope with the economic impact of the West Asia crisis, saying the “compromised PM” was no longer capable of running the country.

The Congress leader described the Prime Minister’s remarks as “evidence of failure”.

Hitting back at Gandhi, BJP IT department chief Amit Malviya said Modi had not asked people to make sacrifices, but had merely appealed for responsible choices in the national interest.

In a post on X, Malviya said Modi had urged citizens to conserve energy, promote indigenous products, preserve foreign exchange reserves and strengthen self-reliance.

“But this is precisely the Congress party’s problem. Any call for public participation in the national interest sounds like ‘preaching’ to them, because their politics has remained confined to power, not nation-building,” he said.

Invoking India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru, Malviya said global conflicts have always had economic consequences for India.

“If appealing to the public to fulfil its responsibility is considered a ‘failure’, then was your beloved Nehru also a ‘compromised PM’?” he asked.

Malviya further said Nehru himself had acknowledged that wars in other countries affected India through inflation and economic pressure.

He also shared an old purported video clip of Nehru in which the former Prime Minister is heard saying that conflicts in countries such as Korea or America have an impact on India as well.

According to Malviya, responsible leadership means speaking honestly to people and encouraging collective participation during difficult times.

The political confrontation followed Modi’s remarks at a BJP rally in Hyderabad, Telangana, on Sunday, where he appealed to citizens to use fuel carefully and help conserve foreign exchange amid tensions in West Asia.

The Prime Minister suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro services, opting for carpooling, increasing the use of electric vehicles, shifting parcel transportation to railways and reviving work-from-home practices that became common during the Covid-19 pandemic.

He also urged people to postpone gold purchases and foreign travel for one year, reduce edible oil consumption, cut dependence on chemical fertilisers and promote natural farming and Swadeshi products.

Reacting strongly to the remarks, Gandhi posted on X in Hindi: “Yesterday, Modi Ji called upon the public to make sacrifices... These are not words of counsel; they are evidence of failure.”

“Over the last 12 years, the country has been pushed to such a stage that people are now being told what to buy and what not to buy, where to go and where not to go,” Gandhi said.

“Again and again, responsibility is shifted onto the public to avoid accountability,” he added.