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Telangana BJP chief N Ramchander Rao on Tuesday backed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's 'seven appeals' to the nation amid the West Asia crisis, saying the Prime Minister had urged citizens to help conserve foreign exchange reserves by reducing gold purchases and avoiding unnecessary foreign travel in the current circumstances.
Speaking to ANI, Rao said that while several countries across the world were witnessing fuel rationing and rising prices, India had managed the situation better and needed to remain cautious in protecting its reserves. He also took a swipe at the Congress, recalling that previous Congress governments had appealed to people to limit food consumption even during non-crisis periods. "The Prime Minister has appealed to the people of this country with regard to saving the forex by reducing the purchase of the gold and also not to go abroad in these circumstances.... In the entire world except India, price rise and rationing of the fuel is happening... We must be very careful in keeping our reserves intact... Even in a non-crisis period, the Congress government wanted and appealed to the people to buy rice or to have meals only once," said Rao. He also criticised Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy over their recent remarks, saying they should revisit how Congress leaders and ministers responded during earlier crises when the party was in power. "The statements that Mallikarjun Kharge and Revnath Reddy made yesterday, let them know the history of this country while the Congress was ruling and see how their ministers and how their leaders have responded to the crisis then," said Rao. His remarks come after the Prime Minister made an appeal in Secunderabad on Sunday, urging 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 stressed the need to reduce dependence on imports and said every household should cut down on edible oil consumption and move towards natural farming to help save foreign currency and protect the environment. Highlighting the burden of fertiliser imports, the Prime Minister said India spends a significant amount of foreign exchange on importing chemical fertilisers and urged farmers to reduce their usage. To combat the volatility of fuel prices, PM Modi urged a shift in how India moves. He urged citizens to reduce petrol and diesel consumption by using the metro and public transport wherever available, opting for car-pooling when private vehicles are necessary, preferring railway transport for the movement of goods, and increasing the use of electric vehicles wherever possible. (ANI)
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