Responding to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal for austerity measures as India feels the heat of the West Asia crisis, some BJP and NDA leaders have started to use public transport to save fuel.
In the national capital Delhi, the city’s Education Minister Ashish Sood took the metro to reach an east Delhi school for a planned interaction with the students.
Sood has also shared pictures of his metro ride on social media. He also boarded an e-rickshaw from the Metro station to reach his destination in Surajmal Vihar.
In Mumbai, Union Minister Ramdas Athawale also took the metro from BKC to Vidhan Bhavan station and urged people to use public transport to save fuel.
Speaking to reporters after his metro journey, Athawale said that there was no need to politicise Modi’s appeal aimed at protecting the economy from the impact of the Middle East conflict.
“I have personally decided that travelling by Metro is essential from the point of view of saving petrol and diesel. Many others should also travel by Metro and help save fuel,” he said.
Another BJP leader, Keshav Upadhye, also took a metro ride from Santacruz to Churchgate.
“In response to the call of our dutiful and popular Prime Minister Narendra Modi to save fuel by making greater use of public transportation systems, I took a metro journey from Santacruz to Churchgate,” he said on X.
Moreover, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has directed his ministers to obtain prior approval from him to use aircraft.
However, according to the instructions, Fadnavis himself will continue to use aircraft due to his busy schedule.
This follows an appeal by Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging people to “use petrol and diesel with great restraint” and revive Covid-era measures such as work from home, and virtual meetings.
He also urged people to reduce the use of foreign products in a bid to save foreign exchange amid “one of the biggest crises of this decade” after the Coronavirus pandemic.
He suggested several austerity measures, including cutting down on cooking oil consumption, and avoiding foreign travel and the purchase of gold.