Modi is harmful for the rupee, alleges Congress
text_fieldsNew Delhi: Congress slammed the BJP-led government over the decline of the rupee. The Opposition party alleged that Prime Minister Modi is "harmful for the rupee".
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate asked what the Modi government is doing to address high inflation. Speaking at a press conference, she called the fall of the rupee and inflation a "vicious cycle".
The rupee is nearing the Rs 80-mark against the US dollar. Congress said that the Modi government is "directionless" and "silent on the free fall of currency".
Shrinate recounted Modi's critical words on the UPA government when he was Gujarat Chief Minister in 2014. He had said the "prestige of the PM is attached to the falling rupee and the lower it falls, the more credibility and dignity of the prime minister is eroded."
She noted that the value of the rupee was Rs 58 against a US dollar in 2014. Quoting his words, she recalled that PM Modi said the currency of a country falls when the government is immoral and corrupt.
Supriya questioned what the Prime Minister would now say about his own statement as the Indian currency is falling to record lows. "This so-called strong PM made the rupee weakest in history. The rupee has depreciated more than 7% in the last six months."
She further raised the question: "for how long will the prime minister keep hiding behind Corona, Russia, and Ukraine?"
Shrinate alleged that PM Modi and his army of sycophants are silent because the free fall of the rupee is due to a failed economy and unbridled inflation. "Thanks to PM Modi ji's economic mismanagement and failure to control the ruined Indian economy."
The party spokesperson warned that the cost of public transport will increase due to the cost of oil. A similar trend will extend to essential commodities like cooking gas as well. She claimed that Congress had strengthened the Rupee in 2013 when it was in power.
She claimed the RBI's effort to strengthen the rupee has failed because investors do not have the "slightest faith" in the policies of the government.
Echoing similar sentiments, Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra tweeted that the rupee is falling against the dollar and employment is declining. "But, the list of words/programs/methods is increasing in the Prime Minister's Office, through which you can question or protest against all this."