MAY 12, 2026
Aam Aadmi Party Chief – Arvind Kejriwal.
AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to disclose the “true state” of the Indian economy and shed more light on the ongoing crisis after he urged the citizens to adopt austerity measures due to the US-Iran war.
During a media briefing, Kejriwal made three requests from the Prime Minister, suggesting that the Centre is not telling the people about the actual condition of the economy amid the ongoing global energy supply crisis.
“The country has been through many crises since the 1950s … from wars with China and Pakistan to the economic crisis, but no Prime Minister has ever asked people to take such austere measures,” he said.
Kejriwal added that PM Modi should disclose where the economy currently stands, adding that the people deserve to know why they are being asked to adopt austere measures.
“The nation is in shock (after PM’s request). I have three requests from the PM – He should tell the nation about the condition of our economy today and what is expected in the near future. This means the economy is in a very bad state. This could worsen in the coming days. The country wants to know where it currently stands. We are ready to take extreme steps for the benefit of the nation … But we must know why we are taking these steps. Thus, I request PM Modi to make public all the information about the current state of Indian economy. Today, a lot of rumours are floating in the market and this is not good for confidence of the economy,” he said.
The AAP chief questioned why only the Indian government is asking people to take such measures even though the war has impacted the entire world.
“Second, we all know that this is happening due to the war between US and Iran. The entire world is affected due to the war. However, no government in the world has urged its citizens to take such strict measures. That raises an obvious question: is this only about the war, or is there something more behind it. Hence, I appeal the Prime Minister to tell people why only India is asking its people to take such measures,” he said.
Kejriwal further alleged that PM Modi’s directives are only for the middle class and exempts government officials as well as the ultra-rich individuals.
“Third, why is only the middle class being burdened – don’t travel abroad, don’t buy gold, don’t use petrol and diesel cars, do work from home. Only middle class is being affected by these measures. Middle class people are very patriotic and will do anything for the benefit of the nation. But why just them?”
“The government should have made such sacrifices first. They should have curtailed government spending; but they haven’t done anything. The Prime Minister and his ministers should have curtailed spending; but they haven’t. Government officers and ultra-rich should have also been asked to curtail spending. But no appeal was made to them. Only the middle class has been asked to take such steps. This makes me very sad,” he said.
Kejriwal remarks come days after PM Modi made seven key appeals to Indians amid the escalating Iran-US-Israel war disrupting oil supplies. He urged citizens to work from home to cut fuel use; avoid gold purchases for a year to preserve foreign exchange reserves; reduce petrol-diesel consumption via public transport, carpooling, or EVs; minimise cooking oil usage given heavy imports; shift from chemical fertilisers to natural farming; prioritize Swadeshi products over foreign brands to boost local manufacturing; and refrain from non-essential foreign travel for a year.
Notably, the Centre has sought to cushion citizens from the energy shock caused by the Iran war and disruption in the Strait of Hormuz through measures such as cutting excise duties on petrol and diesel to contain fuel prices, compensating oil marketing companies for losses, increasing LPG production and boosting food and fertiliser subsidies.
Courtesy/Source: Moneycontrol / PTI
