As the rupee touched nearly ₹80 against the U.S. dollar, the Congress on Friday led a scathing attack against the Narendra Modi government and questioned its silence on the free fall of the currency.
Targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the party said Mr. Modi is “harmful for the rupee” and recalled his comments as Gujarat Chief Minister, when he had attacked the UPA government saying “the prestige of the PM is attached to the falling rupee”.
“The currency of a country falls where the government is immoral and corrupt….I sometimes wonder if there is a race between the central govt and the falling rupee. Who will stoop lower? The prestige of the PM is attached to the falling rupee. The lower it falls, the more credibility and dignity of the Prime Minister is eroded,” quoting Mr. Modi, Congress social media head Supriya Shrinate asked what the Prime Minister had to say about his earlier statements now.
Recalling that Mr. Modi had said that the country “is in the throes of despair” under the UPA regime, former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “As much noise you used to make at that time, today you are as maun (silent) seeing the Rupee depreciating rapidly”.
“The government, as always, seems directionless. Modi is toxic and harmful for the rupee. What is the government doing to address high inflation and it is a vicious cycle,” Ms. Shrinate demanded to know at a press conference.
“This so-called strong PM made the rupee weakest in history.”
“Before 2014, Mr. Modi falsely claimed that a ‘strong PM’ is necessary for the strengthening of the rupee. Now he has proven to be most toxic and harmful for the currency. This so-called strong PM made the rupee weakest in history. Rupee has depreciated more than 7 per cent in the last six months. How long will the Prime Minister keep hiding behind the Corona, Russia-Ukraine war and so on?” she added.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had tried to strengthen the rupee by spending about $40 billion and but it seems to have failed, Ms. Shrinate claimed, “because investors do not have even the slightest faith in the policies of the government”.
Noting that the value of the rupee has seen a fall of nearly ₹22 against the dollar in the past eight years, she said, “Mr. Modi, think about your eroding dignity and credibility - your words not ours”.
Hitting out at the government, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra said while the rupee is falling and unemployment is rising, the Prime Minister’s Office is busy finding ways to prevent questions and protests.
