A day after Prime Minister Narendra Modi made an appeal on the austerity drive amid conflict in West Asia, SP chief Akhilesh Yadav on Monday alleged that the BJP government has failed to handle both the economy and foreign policy, terming its appeal an “admission of failure”.
In a post on X, Yadav said: “As soon as the elections were over, the government suddenly remembered the ‘crisis’. In fact, there is only one crisis for the country, and its name is the BJP.”
The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister wondered how the country would achieve the goal of becoming a “five trillion dollar economy” if the government had to impose several restrictions.
“So many restrictions are being imposed, how will the much-publicized $5 trillion economy become a reality? The BJP government seems to have completely lost control,” he said.
Alleging that the rupee was weakening sharply against the dollar, Yadav alleged that the BJP government’s economic management had collapsed.
“The dollar is touching the sky while the Indian rupee is sinking deeper,” he said.
Referring to the government’s call to avoid unnecessary purchases, including gold, the Samajwadi Party (SP) president said such advice should be directed at BJP leaders rather than the common people.
“The appeal not to buy gold should be directed to the corrupt BJP leaders, not the public, because common people are in any case unable to buy even a small amount of gold,” he said.
He further alleged that BJP leaders were involved in converting “black money into gold”, adding: “If anyone doubts this, he should inquire from Lucknow to Gorakhpur or from Ahmedabad to Guwahati.”
Yadav also questioned why these challenges and restrictions only came to light after the elections.
“During the elections, BJP leaders took thousands of charter flights. Were those planes flying on water? Didn’t they stay in hotels? Why didn’t they campaign entirely through video conferencing if the savings were so important?” he asked.
He claimed that restrictions and appeals were intended for the common people only while those in power continued to enjoy privileges.
The SP chief warned that such statements from the government could create panic in the markets and among the public.
He added, “This type of appeal will spread fear, worry, anxiety and disappointment in trade, business and markets due to fears of recession and inflation.”
He added, “The government’s mission is to utilize its enormous resources to help the country overcome emergency situations, not to create fear and chaos.”
Yadav said that if the government was unable to govern effectively, it should “accept its failure instead of destroying the country.”
He also blamed the Centre’s foreign policy for the current economic situation, alleging that the BJP government has moved away from India’s traditional approach of non-alignment.
“The real reason behind these circumstances is that the BJP government has abandoned the country’s traditional policy of non-alignment and joined certain groups due to specific pressures and interests,” he said.
According to Yadav, the public was paying the price for these policies in the form of inflation, unemployment, slowdown and economic distress.
“Farmers, workers, youth, housewives, employees, professionals, traders – everyone is affected,” he said.
The SP chief claimed that the BJP had “failed in foreign policy and domestic governance” and described the government’s appeal as an “admission of its shortcomings”.
“The votes have been secured, and now the BJP’s shortcomings are becoming clear,” he said.
In a broader attack on the ruling party, Yadav accused the BJP of “polluting politics through electoral irregularities”, “harming social harmony by spreading hatred”, and “weakening cultural and social values through its behaviour”.
“In all areas – cultural, religious, political, social and economic – the BJP has harmed the country,” he added.
Alleging that public anger is rising sharply after the government’s appeal, Yadav asserted that the BJP will not be able to manage the situation through “electoral sorcery”.
“The country is now clearly saying that it does not want the BJP anymore,” he added.
Prime Minister Modi on Sunday said the Center was trying to protect people from the negative impact of the conflict in West Asia and called for judicious use of fuel and postponement of gold purchases and foreign travel, among other measures, to boost the economy.
Addressing a rally organized by the Telangana Bharatiya Janata Party, he suggested reducing consumption of petrol and diesel, using metro services in cities, using cars, increasing use of electric vehicles, using railway services for movement of parcels, and working from home to conserve foreign exchange amid the crisis in West Asia.
“We started working from home, virtual meetings, video conferencing and many other methods during Covid-19. We have become accustomed to them. The need of the hour is to resume these methods,” Modi said.
He called for reducing the consumption of edible oil, reducing the use of chemical fertilisers, promoting natural agriculture and swadeshi products to save foreign exchange and make the country self-reliant.
