HYDERABAD, May 12 : Criticising the Prime Minister’s austerity call, AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi on Tuesday sought to know why Narendra Modi and the BJP did not highlight the need to save forex during the recent state elections.
He also alleged that one of the purposes of calling for austerity measures is to save dollars so that the government can “give to Trump” to purchase oil from the US.
“The question is, was the Prime Minister asking for votes during the elections without telling people that they are going to raise petrol, diesel and aviation fuel prices after the polls? And now he is presenting this as patriotism, saying that a true patriot is someone who tolerates all these hardships,” he told reporters here.
According to the Hyderabad MP, people of the country would get an “invoice” that there will be a sharp rise in prices of petrol, diesel and aviation fuel.
He wondered whether the BJP was not aware of these issues during the recent state elections.
“(US President Donald) Trump says you purchase from me to overcome your energy crunch since you made the trade agreement. PM says don’t purchase gold, avoid foreign travel, reduce consumption of edible oil. Why is he saying all this? So that he can save dollars and give to Trump in Houston. That is the real purpose. You see whether it is patriotism or not,” he said.
Claiming that the West Asia conflict is coming to an end, the AIMIM leader asked why the Centre cannot take the burden of fuel crisis when it bore the brunt for so long.
He said the poor would be hit heavily if there is a rise in fuel prices, besides rise in inflation.
Alleging that foreign investors withdrew Rs one lakh crore from the Indian market in March this year, he said the Modi government is not ready to accept that “micro economics is bleeding”.
“Ours is worst performing currency among emerging markets,” he said.
Owaisi further said the RBI is continuously increasing gold reserves, which is “exact opposite of what the PM advised”.
In March 2026, 77 per cent of the RBI’s total gold reserves were held domestically, whereas in 2023 it was only 38 per cent, he said.
Recalling that, in 1991, India had moved 47 tonnes of gold to London because of a balance of payments crisis, he said the country, now in 2026, is airlifting gold back from London.
“When there are foreign exchange reserves of USD 691 billion and India is such a strong bullion-holding country, why are we facing trouble?” he asked.
Terming the PM’s statement, after the election results, as “quite shocking”, he said, “The BJP government is hiding the real condition of the country and the economy.”
On the cancellation of the NEET exam, Owaisi asked what happened to the law passed in Parliament to take strict action against those involved in paper leaks.
The BJP and the Prime Minister will have to answer to the students who worked hard and the parents who spent lakhs of rupees on coaching for NEET, he said.
Asked about officials involved in SIR in West Bengal being given key posts in the new government, he said it is strange that those who were in-charge of the SIR process are now part of the state government and BJP and the new Chief Minister (Suvendu Adhikari) will have to answer the question.
Referring to the POCSO case registered against the son of Union Minister Bandi Sanjay Kumar in Hyderabad and counter complaint against the victim’s parents, he hoped that justice would be done to the complainant and that law would take its course.
Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy has assured that there would be a thorough probe into it, he said.
When told that the BRS criticised him for allegedly remaining silent on the issue, he said the name of the son of state-run corporation’s chairman came to the fore in the Jubilee Hills gangrape case in the city in 2022 when BRS was in power.
“What action did BRS take then?” he asked.
“My appeal to (BRS president) K Chandrasekhar Rao is to take over the affairs of the party into his hands. The memory of those in whose hands you gave party’s reins is short,” he said. (PTI)
Follow our WhatsApp channel
