'Nation first duty above comfort': PM Modi's seven appeals to people to mitigate West Asia crisis impact

Emphasising that the Centre is trying to shield people from the adverse impact of the West Asia conflict, Modi has called for judicious use of fuel, postponement of gold purchases and foreign travel, among other measures, to strengthen economy.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday listed down seven appeals to people to "strengthen India" during challenging global times.

In a post shared on X, the government said the appeals are to keep "nation first duty above comfort".

Here are the seven appeals by PM Modi:

- Prioritise work from home wherever possible

- Avoid buying gold for one year

- Reduce petrol and diesel consumption; use metro/public transport

- Cut down the use of cooking oil

- Reduce dependence on chemical fertilizers and move toward natural farming

- Use fewer foreign-branded products and adopt Swadeshi

- Avoid foreign travel for one year

The appeals come amid the ongoing West Asia conflict and rising fuel prices.

Emphasising that the Centre is trying to shield people from the adverse impact of the conflict in West Asia, Modi on Sunday called for judicious use of fuel, postponement of gold purchases and foreign travel, among other measures, to strengthen the economy.

Addressing a rally organised by the Telangana BJP in Hyderabad, he suggested reducing petrol and diesel consumption, using metro rail services in cities, carpooling, increased use of electric vehicles, utilising railway services for parcel movement, and working from home to conserve foreign exchange.

However, taking a jibe at Modi, the Congress said the Prime Minister is clueless about ensuring India's energy security even after three months into the US-Iran war.

The Opposition party said it is "shameless, reckless and downright immoral" that the Prime Minister is pushing the people into inconvenience, instead of building contingencies to ensure the country's economy is unaffected by this global crisis.

Congress leader K C Venugopal in a post on X said, "3 months into the Iran-US war and PM Modi is still clueless about ensuring India’s energy security. It is shameless, reckless and downright immoral that the PM is pushing the common citizen into inconvenience, instead of building contingencies to ensure our economy is unaffected by this global crisis."

(With PTI inputs)