After ₹100 for a litre of petrol and ₹1000 for one liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) cylinder, it’s now the Rupee’s turn to march towards 100, former Congress president Rahul Gandhi said on Monday as the currency touched a new low against the US dollar.
In a Facebook post, Mr. Gandhi warned that India “is in the middle of a huge economic crisis that will further worsen and “turn into something Indians have never witnessed before”.
“Rupee has fallen to an all-time low of ₹77.4 to a ($) dollar. The Prime Minister has already achieved his target of ₹100+ in petrol and diesel, and ₹1000 in LPG. Now it’s the Rupee’s turn to march towards 100,” the former Congress chief wrote.
“The PM cannot keep the economic and social realities of India hidden forever. It is time he acknowledges the situation and starts working towards solutions, instead of just offering PR distractions,” he added.
Speaking to reporters, Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala cited “runaway inflation, flight of capital, depleting foreign exchange, growing communal divide and policy paralysis” as the reasons for the Rupee’s slump against the US dollar.
“There are three apparent reasons. Number one: runaway inflation; life has become unbearable and expensive. Whether it is petrol, diesel, cooking gas, eatables, everything has gone beyond the reach of the common man,” Mr. Surjewala said.
“There is immeasurable flight of capital from India and the reason for that immeasurable flight of capital is BJP-sponsored communal tension across India, rampant corruption in BJP-ruled states, the insurmountable debt of the government of India and the States, because of which the confidence of investors has gone down and the cost of doing business in India has gone up manifold,” he added.
