Mumbai/Nagpur: On May 10, Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued an appeal of austerity to people, asking them to minimise the use of fuel and urging them to shun private vehicle use and instead, take to public transport.

He also appealed to people to cut the use of cooking oil, as a way to minimise fuel imports.

However, an analysis of the prime minister’s itinerary since the war began shows that between March 1 and May 12, when Modi appealed for austerity, the prime minister has conducted 81 public events outside Delhi, visiting a total of 53 cities and towns across 12 different states, over a period of 70 days after the war broke out.

Only 13, or 16%, of his travels were linked to his official duties, where Modi either inaugurated projects, like he did in Noida with the Jewar airport, or laid the foundation stones for developmental projects.

The overwhelming bulk of his travel was linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s campaign in the elections to West Bengal, Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry.

We have reached out to the Prime Minister’s Office through the Press Information Bureau (PIB), over text and email. This piece will be updated with their response.

The prime minister’s appeal, and his own travel, are in sharp contrast to the approaches adopted by countries globally. The Philippines declared a national energy emergency in late March; just around then, South Korea launched an energy-saving campaign, urging people to conserve electricity in their daily lives. On April 6, Thailand Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul appealed to Thai citizens to carpool and work from home, in order to conserve energy.

In India, though, the government kept insisting that the country had enough fuel reserves, despite citizens complaining about delayed cooking gas deliveries and fuel pumps experiencing shortages.

However, five days after the results of the state polls were announced on May 4, Modi urged citizens to conserve fuel. In the days after his appeal, petroleum companies announced four hikes in petrol and diesel prices within just 10 days.

The prime minister’s travel: a snapshot

The Wire scrutinised the prime minister’s public appearances by analysing his X feed, his YouTube account as well as........

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