Rush Hour: Opposition says PM’s call for austerity ‘proof of failure’, stock market plunges & more

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The Congress said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s appeal to citizens to cut fuel consumption, avoid gold purchases and adopt other measures to help the country withstand global economic uncertainties amid the West Asia conflict was “proof of failure”. The “unexpected pleas” could indicate that the economic situation in the country was more dire than official data suggested, said party leader Jairam Ramesh.

Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav questioned why restrictions on fuel use and travel were being discussed only after election campaigning had ended, asking whether charter flights and rallies by BJP leaders during the polls did not consume fuel.

Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) leader Priyanka Chaturvedi said that the situation showed a “policy failure” in handling the fallout of the conflict. Read on.

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The Indian stock market fell about 1.5% amid higher global oil prices and concerns about the economic impact of the conflict in West Asia on India. The benchmark Sensex fell more than 1,300 points, or nearly...

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