A fresh political and social debate has erupted online after Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed to citizens to reduce fuel consumption and avoid unnecessary expenses in view of global economic crisis caused by ongoing international conflicts and supply chain disruptions as during a public gathering in Secunderabad PM Modi urged people to use public transport, prefer work from home where possible, avoid unnecessary foreign travel and luxury spending and support locally made products and also said that such steps would help India save foreign exchange reserves at a time when global fuel and fertiliser prices are rising sharply due to international tensions and wars.
The Prime Minister said patriotism is not only about sacrificing one’s life for nation but also about fulfilling responsibilities during difficult times and stressed that India imports large amounts of petrol, diesel and gas and reducing consumption could help country economically and PM Modi encouraged people to use Metro services, public transport, railway transport for goods and electric vehicles wherever possible and also suggested reviving Covid era practices such as online meetings, video conferences and work from home systems in national interest.
Apart from fuel conservation Prime Minister also appealed to people to avoid unnecessary foreign vacations, destination weddings abroad and non essential gold purchases for one year and asked citizens to support Indian made products and reduce edible oil consumption and farmers were also encouraged to cut chemical fertiliser usage by 50% and move towards natural farming and solar-powered irrigation systems.
The remarks quickly triggered strong reactions on social media where different political commentators and influencers expressed sharply opposite opinions and among the critics was Dhruv Rathee who questioned whether political leaders themselves were following the same advice being given to citizens and reacting to PM’s statement Rathee said people were being told to reduce petrol and diesel use and switch to electric vehicles while large political convoys continue to operate and he also argued that leaders should lead by example and asked how many vehicles in such convoys are electric.
Rathee clarified that he was not opposing these suggestions themselves but stressed that leadership also means personally following standards being promoted publicly and his remarks were widely shared online with some users agreeing that public figures should visibly adopt fuel saving measures if they expect citizens to do the same while on the other side content creator Prafful Garg strongly defended PM Modi and criticised opposition leaders over the same issue.
Prafful Garg claimed that PM Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah use relatively smaller convoys compared to some opposition leaders and referring to a recent meeting involving Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, Garg alleged that Punjab CM was seen travelling with a convoy of around 15 vehicles including luxury SUVs and talking further he also targeted Arvind Kejriwal accusing opposition leaders of criticising Centre while not taking similar fuel saving measures themselves.
Defending Prime Minister’s international travel and security arrangements Garg argued that Prime Minister of India cannot compromise on safety or diplomatic responsibilities and said reducing foreign visits entirely would send wrong message globally and affect India’s image internationally and further claimed that several BJP ruled states have already started implementing fuel saving measures for officials and government departments while opposition led states have not announced similar large scale steps publicly.
The issue has now become part of a wider political conversation with supporters of government saying Prime Minister’s appeal is practical during a global economic crisis while critics argue that such measures should begin from top leadership itself.
The Prime Minister maintained that our country needs collective participation to face economic challenges and called on citizens to put “nation first” during difficult times and the discussion around the same continues online.
