Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday 10 May 2026 urged citizens to avoid buying gold for a year and postpone foreign travel as part of a broader appeal aimed at conserving foreign exchange amid growing global uncertainty.
Addressing a BJP rally in Hyderabad on Sunday, PM Modi called on citizens to reduce non-essential foreign exchange outflows, including gold purchases and overseas travel, while stressing the importance of collective public participation during the ongoing global crisis.
The Prime Minister’s remarks came against the backdrop of escalating tensions in West Asia, rising energy prices and global supply-chain disruptions, developments that are increasing pressure on import-dependent economies such as India.
A day later, the Congress launched a sharp attack on the Prime Minister, accusing him of shifting the burden of economic challenges onto ordinary citizens.
The opposition party said the “compromised PM” was no longer capable of running the country and urged him not to place the responsibility for “12 years of failures” on the shoulders of the Indian public.
Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi said PM Modi’s remarks were “evidence of failure”.
“Yesterday, Modi Ji called upon the public to make sacrifices – do not buy gold, do not travel abroad, consume less petrol, cut down on fertilisers and cooking oil, take the metro, and work from home,” Gandhi said in a post on X in Hindi.
मोदी जी ने कल जनता से त्याग मांगे – सोना मत ख़रीदो, विदेश मत जाओ, पेट्रोल कम जलाओ, खाद और खाने का तेल कम करो, मेट्रो में चलो, घर से काम करो।
ये उपदेश नहीं – ये नाकामी के सबूत हैं।
12 साल में देश को इस मुक़ाम पर ला दिया है कि जनता को बताना पड़ रहा है – क्या ख़रीदे, क्या न…
— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) May 11, 2026
Modi’s argument was rooted in foreign exchange conservation. With oil prices climbing and gold imports adding to dollar outflows, the government has signalled that reducing non-essential imports could help cushion external pressure during a volatile geopolitical and economic period.
The message was framed as a public appeal for restraint during a moment of international uncertainty.
But the Congress forgot something. Just 13 years ago, when the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power, the then-Finance Minister P. Chidambaram made a strikingly similar appeal to Indians – asking them not to buy gold because of the strain gold imports were placing on the economy.
In June 2013, Chidambaram publicly urged citizens to avoid gold purchases and linked excessive imports directly to India’s widening current account deficit and pressure on the rupee. Speaking to the press, he said, “Please resist the temptation to buy gold. And we can have it for six months, one year. Almost minimal gold imports into the country, it will dramatically change the situation of the current account deficit.”
India in 2013
-Most educated PM Manmohan Singh
-Most educated Finance minister P Chidambaram
-No global crisis
Still they were asking to stop buying Gold.
And then they question similar appeal during a Global Crisis. pic.twitter.com/cNKdbfmZ9M
— Amit Kumar Sindhi (@AMIT_GUJJU) May 11, 2026
The Times of India quoted him as saying, “If I have one wish which the people of India can fulfill is don’t buy gold,” while other reports noted that he said a one-year reduction in gold imports could dramatically alter the economic situation.
Chidambaram did not stress on this just once. At another event, he said, “Last year’s monthly average was 70 tons of gold. This year in the first two months, the average is 152 tons of gold. How is this sustainable? How can we finance these gold imports? Therefore, both the Reserve Bank and the government have no option but to take stronger measures. The Reserve Bank announced a few measures a couple of days ago. And yesterday, government is obliged to once again increase the import duty. We raised it by 2% in the beginning of the year in February, and we’ve raised it again to 8%. Banks have a role to play in dampening the enthusiasm for gold. I think the Reserve Bank has advised banks that they should not sell gold coins. The Reserve Bank has put in place regulations that gold can only be imported on a consignment basis. It has increased the margins to 100%. And I would urge all banks to please advise their branches that they should not encourage their customers to invest or buy gold. I hope a day will come when we regard gold as any other metal. It just shines a little more than copper or brass.”
“I urge banks not to encourage their customers to buy gold. Gold just shines a little more than copper & brass”.
FM P Chidambaram was asking Indians to not buy gold as economy can’t sustain it.
This was back in 2013 when there was no Ukraine war or Iran-US war. pic.twitter.com/4PyjFn4x0h
— BALA (@erbmjha) May 11, 2026
There was not even any global war or crisis going on but it was centered on the current account deficit and rupee weakness. For this, the Congress kept telling the people to stop buying gold.
But unlike 2013, India in 2026 is facing a far more volatile global environment marked by war-related instability, soaring oil prices and record-high gold prices. The government’s appeal is being framed in the context of protecting India’s economic resilience and reducing external vulnerability during a period of global uncertainty. Despite this, the Congress chose to attack PM Modi’s appeal instead of acknowledging the broader geopolitical and economic pressures confronting the country.
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