Rupee in ICU, Congress hits out at govt

The grand old party on Monday hit out at the government while holding it responsible for the rupee hitting an all-time low as it tumbled to 77.46 against the US dollar.

New Delhi:The grand old party on Monday hit out at the government while holding it responsible for the rupee hitting an all-time low as it tumbled to 77.46 against the US dollar.

“Indian rupee is in ICU [intensive care unit] under [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi government. In an unprecedented fashion, the Indian rupee has fallen to an abysmal low of ₹77.41 to a dollar. Never has this happened in 75 years,” said Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala. He added the rupee has fallen beyond the age of the Prime Minister.

Surjewala blamed inflation, immeasurable flight of the capital, and depletion of foreign exchange reserves for the situation. “Life has become unbearable and expensive, whether it is petrol, diesel, cooking gas, CNG, PNG, or eatables. Everything has gone beyond the reach of common people.”

Surjewala blamed the ruling “Bharatiya Janata Party-sponsored (BJP)” communal tensions across India, “rampant corruption” in the states it rules and insurmountable debt, and increased cost of doing business for the flight of capital.

Citing another reason, he said, “Why would anybody invest in the country if there is an atmosphere of polarization here,” he said.

The Congress leader further said that the depletion of foreign exchange reserves is another reason for the weak Rupee. “The forex reserves have come down from $604 billion to $536 billion in the past fortnight, going down by $31 billion,” he said, adding that the “politics of bulldozer has bulldozed the Indian economy.”

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