Rahul creating fear over Centre’s economic measures, says BJP

Vijayawada: Senior BJP leader and 20-Point Programme Implementation Committee chairman Lanka Dinakar has alleged that the Congress and the YSR Congress were pursuing a political agenda that damages the country’s economic interests and accused congress leader Rahul Gandhi of creating unnecessary fear among the public over the Centre’s economic measures.Addressing the media here on Tuesday, Dinakar said precautionary economic measures were not new in India and had been adopted several times since Independence during periods of foreign exchange pressure and global uncertainty. He said Rahul Gandhi was criticising the Centre without understanding the importance of protecting the country’s economy in the present international situation.Dinakar alleged that both the Congress and YSR Congress had always prioritised political opportunism over national interest. He said leaders who survived politically through corruption and irregularities could not understand Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to safeguard the country’s economy. He also targeted YSRCP president YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, alleging that those involved in illegal rice trade were now trying to lecture the nation on economic management.He said India currently has foreign exchange reserves of around 690.70 billion US dollars under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. However, he noted that the ongoing Iran-US and Israel conflict over the past five months had severely affected global supply chains. According to him, the global economy was already under pressure due to the Ukraine war and the latest geopolitical tensions had created additional economic stress worldwide.Keeping the present geopolitical scenario in view, Modi had appealed to people to exercise caution in fuel consumption, edible oil usage, fertiliser usage, gold purchases, foreign travel and adopt work-from-home practices, Dinakar said. He added that the Prime Minister stressed the need for public cooperation to reduce pressure on foreign exchange reserves and maintain balance in the balance of payments and current account deficit.Citing historical examples, Dinakar said former prime minister Indira Gandhi appealed to people not to buy gold in 1967, while former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao and former finance minister Manmohan Singh sought public support during the 1991-92 economic crisis. He also recalled that the UPA govt in 2013 advised people to reduce gold purchases to protect foreign exchange reserves.Dinakar said Modi’s appeal was neither unprecedented nor unusual and accused Rahul Gandhi of misleading the public instead of acting responsibly. He maintained that although India remained one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, evolving global conditions required collective public support to safeguard the country’s economic stability.