New Delhi: Describing the boycott of Türkiye and Azerbaijan by an increasing number of Indian travellers and traders as “an emotional decision”, Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has said that the people of India have done so voluntarily.
“This is an emotional decision by the people of the country, and I bow before them… The powers that have supported terrorism and Pakistan in this conflict… national sentiments have been hurt and the citizens of the country have taken this decision voluntarily,” the communications minister told media persons Saturday in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. “Nation is supreme, and there will be no compromise on national interest and security.”
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) also announced Friday that it would boycott all trade and commercial activities with Türkiye and Azerbaijan. More than 125 trade leaders from across the country took this decision at the National Conference of Trade Leaders, convened by the BJP MP Praveen Khandelwal-led traders’ body.
As tensions between India and Pakistan escalated last week in the wake of India’s launch of Operation Sindoor, the Indian government had said that Pakistan had used Turkish drones to infiltrate Indian airspace. Operation Sindoor, under which India had struck nine terror hubs in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, was conducted after 26 persons were killed in the Pahalgam terror attack on 22 April.
Earlier this week, Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat had praised Indians tourists after mass cancellations of trips to countries, which he said had supported the “enemy nation”, while suggesting that they should explore India for tourism, instead.
Condemning Türkiye’s military support to Pakistan, the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) had also called for economic sanctions against the country. The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate had appealed to the Narendra Modi government to temporarily suspend direct flights to Türkiye and revoke aviation codeshare privileges until it halts defence equipment supplies to Pakistan.
SJM had also suggested promoting domestic alternatives, and urged Indian businesses and consumers to switch to “Bharatiya substitutes for Turkish goods, and promote domestic destinations in place of Istanbul, Antalya, and Cappadocia”.
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
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