PM Modi urges work from home, fuel cuts and delayed gold buying

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday urged people to reduce fuel consumption, postpone gold purchases and avoid foreign travel for a year as India deals with the impact of the conflict in West Asia on fuel prices and foreign exchange reserves.

Addressing a rally organised by the Bharatiya Janata Party in Hyderabad, Modi said the Centre is trying to protect people from the adverse effects of the crisis and called for collective efforts to strengthen the economy.

He suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increasing the use of electric vehicles, shifting parcel movement to railways and resuming work-from-home practices to conserve foreign exchange.

Stressing the need to save foreign exchange due to the crisis in West Asia, Modi also called for postponing the purchase of gold and foreign travel for one year.

“We have to save foreign exchange by any means,” he said, adding that the conflict in West Asia had significantly increased the prices of petrol and fertilisers.

He said supply chain pressure was creating difficulties despite measures taken by the government to address the situation.

“That’s why, during a global crisis, keeping the country above all else, we have to take resolutions,” he said.

Referring to changes adopted during the Covid-19 pandemic, Modi said people had become used to virtual meetings, video conferencing and work-from-home systems.

“We got into work-from-home, virtual meetings, video conferencing, and many other methods during Covid-19. We got habituated to them. The need of the hour is to resume those methods,” Modi said.

The Prime Minister also called for reducing edible oil consumption, lowering the use of chemical fertilisers, promoting natural farming and encouraging the use of Swadeshi products to help conserve foreign exchange and make the country self-reliant.

Speaking about recent political developments, Modi said the BJP had secured a massive majority in the recently held Assembly polls in West Bengal and added that he was witnessing similar enthusiasm in Telangana.

He said people in Telangana also wanted change.

“People of West Bengal defeated the dictatorial model, and that is why celebrations are going on across the country,” he said.

When Modi raised the slogan “Agli baar”, the crowd responded with “BJP sarkar”.

Recalling Telangana’s early support for the BJP, Modi said the state had given one MP to the party when it had only two MPs in Parliament.

Launching a sharp attack on the Indian National Congress, Modi said the party’s priority was not public service but divisive politics.

“Congress has become more Left than the Left, meaning it has become strongly Maoist. It is more ‘Muslim League-like’ than the Muslim League,” he said.

He claimed that people now refer to Congress as “MMC—Muslim League, Maoist, Congress”.

Modi said that while Maoism was on its last breath in the country, Congress and Left parties were attempting to protect it.

“During the last 11-12 years, the royal family of Congress has continuously tried to ensure that action is not taken against Maoist terror,” he said.

He added that Maoist violence in Telangana could have been eliminated earlier if the state police had been given a free hand in coordination with the Centre’s policies.

The Prime Minister also alleged that Congress makes promises before elections and later forgets them after coming to power.

During his visit to Hyderabad, Modi inaugurated Sindhu Hospital.

In a post on X, he said the hospital was a commendable effort to strengthen healthcare infrastructure in the city and nearby areas. He also appreciated the hospital team’s focus on technology and innovation in healthcare.