Opposition leaders have pounced on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call for austerity in response to the West Asia crisis, terming it an admission of his failure.

Congress president and Rajya Sabha Opposition leader Mallikarjun Kharge posted on X: “But why was the Prime Minister ji engrossed in election campaigning? Why was he doing roadshows? Why was he saying ‘the situation is under control’, ‘sab changa si’?”

Modi took part in a roadshow in Somnath on Monday and will hold another one in Vadodara on Tuesday. He also witnessed an aerial performance by the air force’s acrobatic team to mark 75 years of the construction of the Somnath temple.

CPM general secretary M.A. Baby told reporters here: “It is very interesting to note that some of the austerity measures which Narendra Modi has announced now appear to be very similar to what the ruler of Sri Lanka, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, had announced in 2021…. Now, when the Indian Prime Minister makes his announcement, I don’t know within how many hours he is planning to go for a foreign jaunt for seven or eight days.”

Rajapaksa was forced out of power in July 2022 following months of protests fuelled by a severe economic crisis.

Later this week, Modi is set to go on tour to the UAE, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway and Italy.

“Now the Prime Minister is demanding positive measures for the lives of the people. But he does not have any commitment to practise it himself, nor has he ever advised such measures to be followed by Ambani or Adani,” Baby added.

AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal wondered whether it was a sign of an “economic emergency”. “The Prime Minister should place the truth before the nation. What is the real economic condition of the country after all?” he said.

Addressing a rally in Hyderabad on Sunday, Modi called upon people to save fuel by working from home and to refrain from buying gold to save foreign exchange.

Fearing a dip in trade, jewellers in Lucknow staged protests against Modi on Monday.

Samajwadi Party leader Akhilesh Yadav said: “Why did all these restrictions only come to mind after the elections? Were the thousands of charter flights the BJP folks took during the elections flying on water? This kind of appeal will only spread fear along with panic, unease and despair in trade, business, and the markets, due to apprehensions of recession or inflation. The truth is, the BJP has failed in both foreign policy and domestic policy. This appeal is an admission of the BJP government’s own failure.”

Lok Sabha Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi said the austerity measures suggested by Modi were “proofs of failure”. “Modi ji demanded sacrifices from the public yesterday — don’t buy gold, don’t go abroad, use less petrol, cut down on fertiliser and cooking oil, take the metro, work from home. These aren’t sermons — these are proofs of failure…. Running the country is no longer within the reach of a compromised PM,” Rahul posted on X.

BJP IT head Amit Malviya hit back, saying: “If appealing to the public to fulfil their responsibilities is ‘failure’, then was your dear Nehru Ji-a ‘Compromised PM’? Nehru Ji himself had said that when wars happen in other countries, their impact falls on India in the form of inflation. Was that also an ‘excuse’ back then, or was it considered responsible leadership at that time? The truth is that every global crisis affects the entire world. The only difference is that responsible leadership tells the public the truth and appeals to face the challenges together...”