Telangana chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao on Sunday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the ‘record breaking’ fall in value of rupee that hit new lows against the dollar over the past few weeks.
“The rupee has never fallen so dramatically under any Prime Minister as it has under PM Narendra Modi,” Rao, also known as KCR, was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
An old clip of Modi hitting out at the previous Congress-led UPA government over the rupee’s fall was played out at the press conference held by the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) supremo.
“Currencies of Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka are not falling. Then why is Indian currency dwindling? The government will have to answer. The country needs an answer,” Modi can be heard saying in the video.
At this point, the video paused and Rao said, “We are also asking the same thing. You (BJP-led central government) will have to answer. Rupee’s value is at its worst-ever. If PM Modi is as honest as he claims he is, then why is he not addressing it? If you (PM Modi) can ask questions, then others can too.”
{{/usCountry}}At this point, the video paused and Rao said, “We are also asking the same thing. You (BJP-led central government) will have to answer. Rupee’s value is at its worst-ever. If PM Modi is as honest as he claims he is, then why is he not addressing it? If you (PM Modi) can ask questions, then others can too.”
{{/usCountry}}The Telangana chief minister also said that the Modi government does not believe in democracy. “Is this a democracy or a dictatorship? What are you doing in the country? The Narendra Modi government does not believe in democracy, it works on dictatorship. This is a fact, and this is happening in front of everyone in the country,” he added.
The rupee on Friday dropped 18 paise to close at 79.26 against the US dollar. On Tuesday, the Indian currency depreciated by 42 paise to close at all-time low against the American dollar.
India’s trade deficit also widened to a record in June, adding further pressure on the Indian currency. The trade gap, the amount by which the value of a country’s imports exceeds its exports, rose to $25.63 billion in June, led by a surge in coal and oil imports amid soaring global prices, according to official data.
The Modi government has attributed this to the ongoing Ukraine war that has caused deep ripples across the global economy.