Congress says PM aims to make rupee hit a century

Photo: PTI

Congress Leader Supriya Shrinate has launched a sharp criticism of Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the falling value of the Indian rupee against the US dollar. Shrinate claimed that in the last 10 years, the rupee has lost 50% of its value, and she believes that Modi has decided to make the rupee hit a century.

During a press conference, Shrinate, holding a magnifying glass, joked that she had brought it because she had lost track of how much the rupee had fallen and, in turn, how the dignity of the Prime Minister had also dropped. She quoted Modi's own words, where he had said that as the rupee falls, so does the dignity of the Prime Minister and his office. Shrinate sarcastically wondered what Modi had to say now about the situation.

The rupee is currently trading at 87 to the US dollar. When Modi first became the Prime Minister, the rupee stood at 58 to the dollar, marking a 29-point drop in the last decade, which Shrinate pointed out as a 50% fall. She joked that it seemed like Modi had made it his goal to make the rupee hit a century.

She then raised concerns about the government's plans to fix the rupee's value and whether the precious foreign exchange reserves will continue to be used in an attempt to strengthen the currency. She mentioned how the rupee seems to be in a constant game of hide-and-seek with the 87 mark, with Modi making promises of pushing it to 60, 65, 70, and so on, and now aiming for 87.

Shrinate also humorously suggested that if anyone asked Modi about the falling rupee, he could blame the country's first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, for the situation.
The Congress spokesperson also shared a pie chart showing the rupee's decline under various prime ministers throughout history. She pointed out that when the British left India, the value of one US dollar was Rs 3.31. Over the years, the rupee's value fell by only 2% during Nehru's time. There was no decline in the rupee under Lal Bahadur Shastri's leadership. Under Indira Gandhi's first term, the rupee fell by 5%, and the same happened during her second term. During Rajiv Gandhi's leadership, the rupee depreciated by 6%. The rupee also fell by 6% during VP Singh’s one-year tenure.

Shrinate explained that P.V. Narasimha Rao faced a tough economic situation and had to introduce major reforms in 1991, which led to a 17% depreciation of the rupee. Under Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the rupee fell slightly more than 11% in six years. Dr. Manmohan Singh started with the rupee at 45 in 2004, and by 2007, he had strengthened it to 41.

The rupee fell to 48 during the global financial crisis in 2008. In 2012, it dropped further during the taper tantrum but was brought back to 58 within four months by the Congress government. Shrinate noted that when Modi took office, the rupee was at 58.4, but now it has fallen further, and it looks like Modi is aiming for a "century" of rupees.

Shrinate accused Modi of contributing 34% to the rupee's decline over his 10-year tenure. She claimed that in this period, the rupee has depreciated by 50%.
The Congress leader also highlighted that India’s foreign exchange reserves have dropped to their lowest point in 10 months, from $704 billion on September 27, 2024, to $635 billion on January 10, 2025.

Shrinate asked the Modi government several questions: Does it realize the impact of a depreciating rupee? Does it have any plans to fix the rupee? How long will the country’s foreign reserves be spent to control the rupee? And does the government understand that a falling rupee leads to higher inflation, which affects common people

Despite these concerns, the rupee showed a slight appreciation of 18 paise, reaching 86.26 against the US dollar on Friday morning. This was supported by positive domestic equities and a weaker US dollar. However, the rupee had fallen by 9 paise on Thursday, settling at 86.44 against the US dollar.

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