Give up travelling on foreign jet: Arvind Kejriwal jabs PM on buy Swadeshi call

In a shot at Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s reiterated appeal to “buy swadeshi (indigenous)” products, former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said Monday that people expect action, not lectures. The head of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stated in a post on X that the PM encourages people to purchase Swadeshi products.

“Why don’t you start using Swadeshi products yourself? The foreign aircraft you travel on daily, why not give it up? All the foreign goods you use throughout the day, why not abandon them? Why not shut down the four American companies operating in India? (US President) Trump is insulting India and Indians every day,” the former Chief Minister said in the post in Hindi.

“Why don’t you take some action too? People expect action from their Prime Minister, not sermons,” he added.

The prime minister pushed people to become more self-sufficient and less reliant on imported commodities in a speech to the nation on Sunday. He made the statement, “Say it with pride, I buy swadeshi,” in the midst of continuing tensions with the US over the significant tariff hike and adjustments to the H-1B visa price.

In addition to urging Swadeshi, the Prime Minister discussed the Center’s significant revision of the Goods and Services Tax, known as “GST 2.0,” which went into effect on Monday. He called the launch a “GST saving festival” and said the changes would help consumers while increasing domestic production and consumption.