JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha accuses Rahul Gandhi of being an 'opportunist' over PM Modi's criticism on 'seven appeals'

Speaking to reporters, Jha stressed the government's job to manage problems of the nation, accusing Rahul Gandhi of being 'opportunist' in his time of disaster.

Janata Dal (United) MP Sanjay Jha on Monday hit back strongly at LoP Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, saying that things would have been different for Congress party if they had done "self-reflection" over their performance in the recently concluded assembly elections. Speaking to reporters, Jha stressed the government's job to manage problems of the nation, accusing Rahul Gandhi of being 'opportunist' in his time of disaster.

"If they had done some self-reflection, things would have changed. How many seats did they win in Bengal? Their two MLAs from Bengal can ride off on a single bike. This is the state of this party because of them. They don't understand anything. If there's a problem, managing it is the government's job. They are looking for opportunities in this disaster, but the public keeps track of everything," said Sanjay Jha. Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Monday hit back at Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent 'seven appeals' to counter ongoing West Asia crisis, and termed them as "failures" rather than "sermons."

In an 'X' post, the Congress MP intensified his attack on PM Modi, reiterating his 'Compromised PM' criticism and added that running the country is no longer in the hands of the Prime Minister. He further accused PM Modi of shifting the responsibility to the public so that the government could itself escape from accountability. "Modi ji demanded sacrifices from the public yesterday - don't buy gold, don't go abroad, use less petrol, cut down on fertilizer and cooking oil, take the metro, work from home. These aren't sermons - these are proofs of failure. In 12 years, he's brought the country to such a pass that the public has to be told - what to buy, what not to buy, where to go, where not to go. Every time, they shift the responsibility onto the people so they can escape accountability themselves. Running the country is no longer within the reach of a Compromised PM," the 'X' post from Rahul Gandhi said.

This comes after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday made "seven appeals" from the nation to counter the ongoing West Asia crisis. While addressing an event in Secunderabad, the Prime Minister emphasised the need to curb the usage of petrol and diesel amidst the ongoing West Asia crisis. PM Modi reflected on the COVID-19 pandemic period, where work from Home had become culture for every household, and stressed adapting it at present.

He also stressed on people to limit their foreign travels for at least a year so that country's foreign exchange could be saved. "In this time of global crisis, we have to make a resolution keeping duty paramount and fulfil it with complete dedication. A big resolution is to use petrol and diesel sparingly. We must curb our use of petrol and diesel. In cities with metro lines, we should decide to travel by metro only. If we must use a car, then we should try to carpool... People with electric vehicles should try to use them as much as possible. During the Corona period, we developed many systems of work from home, online meetings, and video conferences, and we even became accustomed to them. Today, the demands of the times are such that if we restart these systems, it will be in the national interest. We must prioritise work from home, online conferences, and virtual meetings again," PM Modi said.

"We must also place a strong emphasis on saving foreign exchange, as petrol and diesel have become so expensive globally... It is our responsibility to save the foreign currency spent on purchasing petrol and diesel... The growing culture of weddings abroad, travelling abroad, and vacationing abroad is becoming prevalent among the middle class. We must decide that during this time of crisis, we should postpone travelling abroad for at least a year," he added. PM Modi also requested the citizens to cut their purchase of gold while reflecting on its impact on the country's foreign exchange.

"Gold purchases are another area where foreign exchange is used extensively... In the national interest, we must resolve not to purchase gold for a year, no matter how many functions we have scheduled at home," said PM Modi. He also urged to cut down the usage of edible oil and chemical fertilisers while calling it a "huge contribution to patriotism" and its impact to improve health of national treasury and health.

"The same is true for edible oil. We have to spend foreign currency on its import. If every household reduces the use of edible oil, it is a huge contribution to patriotism... This will improve the health of the national treasury and the health of every family member. Another sector that consumes foreign currency is our agriculture. We import chemical fertilisers in large quantities from abroad... We should reduce our consumption of chemical fertilisers by half and move towards natural farming. This way, we can save foreign currency and our farms and Mother Earth," said PM Modi. (ANI)