Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal urging citizens to reduce their consumption of cooking oil, vehicle fuel, and gold has triggered a fresh political sparring match between the ruling alliance and the Opposition. The Prime Minister made the call in the wake of rising crude oil prices and growing global uncertainty following the escalating conflict between the United States and Iran.

PM’s appeal to the nation

Modi urged citizens to avoid buying gold, reduce cooking oil consumption, switch to electric vehicles, and limit foreign travel to curb imports of crude oil, fuel, and other dollar-denominated goods. The idea behind such an appeal is that lowering the country’s import bill would help reduce demand for dollars, strengthen the Indian rupee, and bolster the overall economy.