Sapkal said the government had weakened the economy for electoral gains and was now advising people to avoid buying petrol, diesel, gold, fertilisers, and edible oil.

“Will only ordinary people make sacrifices while Modi continues giving speeches before cameras?” he asked.

Sapkal also said that while several countries were preparing for a possible global crisis, the BJP government remained focused on elections and publicity.

Referring to the Covid pandemic, Sapkal said people died due to a lack of oxygen while the government focused on symbolic campaigns.

Calling Modi an “event manager”, Sapkal said the country needed leadership with long-term planning but instead got a government focused on image-building.

Shiv Sena (UBT) Rajya Sabha MP Priyanka Chaturvedi also criticised the Centre, calling the situation a “policy failure” in handling the conflict in West Asia.

“Election-related decisions cannot now be pushed onto citizens by asking them to save oil, reduce travel and cut spending,” Chaturvedi said.

She added that people were already paying the price for what she called “election-focused governance and award-collecting foreign relations”.

Taking a swipe at the government, Chaturvedi suggested banning long ministerial convoys, stopping large political rallies for a year, and avoiding grand swearing-in ceremonies.

Referring to the Assam Chief Minister’s oath-taking ceremony on May 12, she wrote, “WFH should mean Watch From Home”.

“Walk the talk,” she added.

NCP (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar also accused the Centre of shifting the burden of the crisis onto ordinary citizens instead of addressing larger economic concerns.