Rupee fell to its two-year low against the dollar on Thursday as China continued to devalue its currency.
It crossed 65 per dollar on Thursday morning, but lost more value as the market closed. Rupee ended at 65.10 per dollar, down 0.45% from its previous close of 64.81.
Weak rupee has been a major debating point among political parties in India as they tried to link it with India’s lack of economic growth.
Not so long ago, the BJP had thrown its weight behind highlighting the incompetency of Manmohan Singh, then UPA’s prime minister, whenever the Indian currency lost its value against the dollar. The party even made it a huge election issue.
Even the party’s sympathisers such as writer Chetan Bhagat and Sri Sri Ravi Shankar mocked Manmohan Singh and appeared confident that rupee will gain considerable strength as soon as Narendra Modi assumed power.
Alarmed by this ‘mayhem, an incensed Bhagat had tweeted profusely.
Rupee at 60. It is mayhem. Close to an economic crisis. But well, the government is silent.
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) June 20, 2013
The rupee is collapsing and neither the economist PM nor the first family has anything to say about it.
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) June 11, 2013
Rupee at 62. Because nobody wants to invest in India right now. We hate business, and now business hates us. Bring on the free rice.
— Chetan Bhagat (@chetan_bhagat) August 16, 2013
This is what Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, who had actively ‘campaigned’ in favour of BJP, said,
It is refreshing to know that the rupee will get stronger at Rs.40/- per dollar if Modi comes to power http://t.co/OacZDXesGy
— Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (@SriSri) March 20, 2014
There were other BJP leaders too, who had taken a dig at the Manmohan Singh government for not being able to check the ‘free fall’ of rupee against the dollar. For example, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, known for his creative one-liners, had said, “dollar ke DOLY pr rupaye ki rukhsati.—-Bharat NIRMAN bna dollar NIRMAN ”
Then there was this tweet of Naqvi, who’s now a cabinet minister in Narendra Modi government.
Dollar on escalator …….rupee on ventilator……. Ho raha BHARAT NIRMAN.
— Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi (@naqvimukhtar) August 19, 2013
These leaders and party sympathisers aside, Modi himself had gone to extra lengths in embarrassing Manmohan Singh on rupee’s devaluation.
We’ve compiled what PM Modi and his other colleagues had said on camera commenting on rupee while they were in opposition.
Watch the video:
