A statement attributed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi is being widely circulated on social media, urging citizens to boycott foreign products, especially Chinese, for 90 days to make India the second-largest economy in the world.
The text in Hindi reads: “प्रिय साथियों आपका प्रधानमंत्री कुछ कह रहा है
कल यदि भारत पर चीन का कब्ज़ा हो गया तो उसके लिए हम स्वयं जिम्मेदार होंगे। अंग्रेजो ने भी भारत में व्यापर करके ही हमें गुलाम बनाया था। तब हम अनपढ् थे लेकिन आज समझदार है । स्वदेशी अपनाए देश बचाऐ अगर सभी भारतीय 90 दिन तक कोई भी विदेशी सामान नहीं ख़रीदे तो भारत दुनिया का दूसरा सबसे अमीर देश बन सकता है सिर्फ 90 दिन में ही भारत के 2 रुपये 1 डॉलर के बराबर हो जायेंगे हम जोक्स फॉरवर्ड करते ये मेसेज फोरवर्ड करो तो एक आंदोलन बन जाऐ पिछले साल दिवाली पर 1 अभियान के तहत लोगो ने चीनी लाइट नहीं खरीदी तो चीन का 20% सामान बर्बाद हो गया एवं चीन बोखला गया था फर्क पड़ता हे साहब हमारा देश बहुत बड़ा है। कर के देखो एच लगता है।
भारतवासियों जागो !” (English translation: “Dear friends, your Prime Minister is saying something If China takes over India tomorrow, we ourselves will be responsible for it. The British also enslaved us by doing business in India. We were illiterate then but today we are intelligent. Adopt Swadeshi and save the country. If all Indians do not buy any foreign goods for 90 days, then India can become the second-richest country in the world. In just 90 days, India’s 2 rupees will become equal to 1 dollar. We forward the jokes. Forward this message. So let’s become a movement. Last year on Diwali, under a campaign, when people did not buy Chinese lights, 20% of China’s goods were wasted and China was stunned. It does matter, our country is very big. Indians, wake up!”)
The above post can be seen here (archive). More such posts can be seen here and here.
FACT CHECK
NewsMobile fact-checked the post, and found it to be false.
Investigating with a thorough keyword search, the NM team found no credible evidence indicating that PM Modi called for a boycott of foreign goods.
However, several verified reports highlighted instances where the Prime Minister encouraged the use and promotion of indigenous products. (These reports can be seen here, here and here)
We also came across a News18 Hindi article, dated November 1, 2021, with a headline: “PM Narendra Modi appealed for a Swadeshi Diwali… China suffered a loss of ₹50,000 crore.” Here PM Modi encourages citizens to buy indigenous products.
However, the article clearly mentioned that both PM Modi and several government ministers clarified that the ‘Swadeshi’ and ‘Vocal for Local’ initiatives were not aimed at any specific country.
With the above findings, we can conclusively say that the statement in question is falsely attributed to PM Modi.
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