The Congress on Friday accused the Prime Minister-led BJP government of triggering an “undeclared lockdown” on the jewellery sector, alleging that the Centre’s recent remarks discouraging gold purchases and the sharp hike in import duty on gold and silver were together pushing nearly 3.5 crore people dependent on the industry towards an economic disaster.
Addressing a press conference on 24 Akbar Road in the national capital, senior Congress leader and MP Randeep Singh Surjewala claimed the BJP government’s policies had exposed what he described as the “real plan” behind Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s earlier political attacks over women’s jewellery during the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign.
Referring to Modi’s speech in Rajasthan’s Banswara on April 22, 2024, where he had alleged that the Opposition would “snatch mangalsutras” from women, Surjewala said the Prime Minister had now himself appealed to women in Hyderabad on May 10 to avoid buying gold jewellery for a year.
The Congress leader alleged that the statement, followed by the government’s decision on May 13 to raise import duty on gold and silver from 6 to 15 per cent, had delivered a crippling blow to jewellers, artisans, traders and workers linked to the sector.
Calling the move a “disaster order” for the jewellery ecosystem, Surjewala said the impact would be felt from villages to metropolitan cities where lakhs of small jewellers, goldsmiths, polishers, craftsmen and traders survive on the business. He claimed over 90 per cent of the jewellery trade operates through small traders and the MSME sector, with around 3.5 crore people dependent on it for livelihood.
He said the gems and jewellery sector contributes more than 7 per cent to India’s GDP and accounts for nearly 12 per cent of the country’s exports, adding that over 85 per cent of exporters in the sector fall under the MSME category. According to him, nearly 50 lakh people are directly employed in the industry while crores depend on the larger ecosystem linked to jewellery manufacturing and trade.
Attacking the Centre’s economic policies, Surjewala alleged that after demonetisation, excise duty measures, GST implementation and compulsory hallmarking rules, the latest decisions could become a “death warrant” for the sector.
He further claimed that the steep hike in import duty would encourage gold smuggling and strengthen illegal networks. Citing official figures, he said government agencies had seized over 2.6 metric tonnes of smuggled gold in 3,005 cases during the 2024-25 financial year, while industry experts estimated annual smuggling to be between 10 and 15 metric tonnes.
“The BJP government has on one hand discouraged people from purchasing jewellery, while on the other it has opened the door for smugglers and black-market operators,” he alleged.
The Congress also linked the issue to the wider crisis facing MSMEs across the country. Referring to government data, Surjewala said over 75,000 registered MSMEs had shut down between the launch of the Udyam portal in July 2020 and August 15, 2025. He also cited reports claiming around 18 lakh enterprises in the unorganised manufacturing sector closed between 2015-16 and 2022-23, affecting nearly 54 lakh jobs.
According to him, more than 35,500 MSMEs shut down during 2024-25 till February 2025 alone, resulting in the loss of employment for over three lakh people.
The Congress leader questioned why the government was discouraging gold consumption among the public while simultaneously increasing official gold reserves. He claimed RBI and government sovereign gold holdings rose from 794.64 metric tonnes in September 2025 to 880.52 metric tonnes by March 2026, an increase of 85.88 metric tonnes in seven months.
“If the government itself is buying gold, why is the public being told not to purchase jewellery?” he asked.
Surjewala further alleged that the BJP government’s policies were aimed at weakening small jewellers and eventually handing over the sector to large corporate players. He claimed the Centre was using falling foreign exchange reserves and pressure on the rupee as justification for policies that could wipe out smaller businesses.
The Congress demanded that the Centre immediately announce a special economic relief package for jewellers, goldsmiths, artisans, traders and workers associated with the industry to help them survive what it called the government’s “jewellery shutdown”.
The party also urged the government to explore alternatives such as domestic gold mobilisation and recycling, use of idle gold stocks, reforms in tax provisions to allow families to lend gold to jewellers of their choice, and policies promoting value-added gold consumption instead of imposing steep import duties.
Surjewala said the Congress would oppose the government’s decisions “from Parliament to the streets”, alleging that millions of skilled workers and traditional artisans involved in jewellery-making were being pushed towards financial ruin by the BJP government’s economic policies.
