PM Modi’s call for ‘Buy Indian’ yet to see push from city leaders

 

 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s call to ‘Buy Indian, Live Indian’ is ringing loud from the national stage, but on the ground, it is yet to be widely heard and has met with a cool response from local party units. Amid rising US tariffs on Indian goods, Modi has repeatedly urged citizens to adopt indigenous products and boost self-reliance. On Sunday, while inaugurating the Dwarka Expressway and Urban Extension Road in Delhi, he once again appealed to people to prefer “swadeshi” over foreign goods, especially during the festive season. Yet, despite the Prime Minister’s repeated appeals, BJP’s local and state units have failed to translate the message into action. No awareness campaigns, public drives or grassroots initiatives have been seen so far.

 

It is raising questions over how strongly the party machinery is backing the Prime Minister’s vision. It is also interesting to note that no directions have been issued even at the state level for any special programme or campaign to give a real push to Modi’s appeal and take it to the public in a deeper and wider way. When questioned on the matter, City (District) President of BJP, Ratnesh Sonkar said the party is “deliberating on the issue in depth” and assured that a public awareness campaign would soon be rolled out with the support of all sections of society. He added that this is a social responsibility and every citizen should begin by adopting the practice at home. It may be recalled that PM Modi has repeatedly stressed that greater reliance on local products would strengthen the nation’s economy and urged both traders and consumers to prefer “Made in India” goods. While the Prime Minister continues to emphasise swadeshi as the path to self-reliance, the absence of concrete efforts at the organisational level raises a pressing question, will the BJP translate his vision into a ground-level movement or will the message remain confined to speeches?