New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's idea of rupee not weakening but dollar strengthening amused former Finance Minister P Chidambaram who called it a "thoughtless" comment.
After attending the annual meetings of International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, Sitharaman told media in Washington on Monday that it is not rupee sliding but dollar is strengthening incessantly.
P Chidambaram likened Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's comment to as if saying after failing a poll that her opponent won, not her lost.
Her comment triggered reactions on social media just as Sitharaman was defending the 8 per cent slide in the value of the rupee against the dollar this year, according to NDTV.
Talking to NDTV Chidambaram termed Sitharaman's comment "thoughtless", adding that somebody might have told her it was a clever statement.
The BJP came out in support of the minister saying the dollar has appreciated against most currencies, while the rupee hasn't depreciated against all currencies.
Chidambaram took on the BJP's defence saying it made little sense because the comparison with the dollar was incorrect.
As well as saying that India's stage in development in low, he pointed out that India maybe a fifth largest economy because of population.
He also added that even if per capital is low, GDP could be high and the former minister further said that in India there is hunger, malnutrition, deficiencies in health and education.
He said that instead of saying that currency has not fallen one has to be humble about it and he asked the finance minister what she was going to do it stabilise it.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves came down from $642.45 billion a year back to $532.87 billion in the week through October 7.
The Reserve Bank of India and Sitharaman attributed it to valuation changes happening due to the appreciating US dollar, according to the report.