NEW DELHI: With the rupee tumbling below 70 for a dollar, Congress slammed Prime Minister
Narendra Modi for “economic mismanagement” even as the party circulated videos of his criticism of the fall in currency during the UPA government. Congress president
Rahul Gandhi tweeted, “The Indian Rupee gave the Supreme Leader a vote of no-confidence, crashing to a historic low.
Listen to the Supreme Leader’s master class on economics in this video, where he explains why the Rupee is tanking.” Rahul tagged a video of Modi, then
Gujarat chief minister and BJP’s PM aspirant, lashing out at then PM
Manmohan Singh for the falling rupee. Senior Congress leader Ahmed Patel said, “First time ever, Rupee falls to 70 to a dollar. That too on the eve of our 72nd Independence Day... BJP government has done what no other government achieved in 70 years ... this is height of their good governance What a sad day!”
Addressing a press conference, Congress spokespersons
Randeep Surjewala and Govind Ballabh poked fun that Modi was eyeing the age of BJP’s “margdarshak mandal” (75 years) for the rupee. During UPA, Modi had jibed that rupee would cross the age of then PM Manmohan Singh.
“What Congress could not achieve in 60 years, Modi and his careless economic policies have achieved in 60 months,” Congress said. The AICC said successive economic missteps from demonetisation to flawed GST were responsible for the country’s poor economic situation. The spokespersons also rebuffed the argument that the rupee had tumbled because of global factors, saying Congress had managed the economy well despite the 2008 global financial crisis.
They said the fall in rupee would make imports costly and have a domino effect on various parameters resulting in hardship for the people. “The popularity of the Modi government and the value of rupee are falling at the same pace, and that is a cause of worry for the entire country,” Surjewala said.
