After PM Modi's austerity appeals, Raisina Hill responds to Oppn barbs, cites historical references

The BJP pointed to a statement by former prime minister Manmohan Singh on subsidising fuel and asked where money would come from, quoting his remark 'Where will we find the money for this? Money does not grow on trees.'

To defend the cooking-oil reduction appeal, BJP cited past Congress leaders Nehru and Lal Bahadur Shastri, who urged skipping meals during food shortages and wartime crises: Nehru’s call in the 1950s and Shastri’s 1965 'skip a meal every Monday' during the war with Pakistan.

Reference was made to former finance minister P Chidambaram’s ‘four desperate appeals’ on gold in 2013.

A 1966 statement by then prime minister Indira Gandhi, cited by the government, warned that India’s gold-buying habit drains foreign reserves.

The Gold Control Act of 1962, reissued in 1968, imposed sweeping restrictions on gold ownership; by 1963 jewellery above 14 carat fineness was described as prohibited, with limits on gold bars and coins and restrictions on licensed dealers.

Government sources cited Jawaharlal Nehru's 1962 gold donation appeal as a mass mobilisation of personal wealth during a national crisis, noting that he urged donation of gold jewellery.

The Congress and other opposition parties criticised the Prime Minister’s call, with Rahul Gandhi describing the appeals as 'proofs of failure'.

PM Modi on Sunday urged Indians to reduce fuel consumption and refrain from buying any gold for a year, among other austerity measures.