Manage Economy, Not Headlines: Rahul Gandhi To PM As Rupee Plummets

Congress's Rahul Gandhi said today that he will desist from "blind criticism" of Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the largest single-day drop in the value of rupee. Deviating from the party line, he pointed out the pluses of the situation. "Focus on managing our economy, not media headlines," was his parting shot.

The rupee weakened to an all-time low today, trading beyond 77.40 against the dollar.

The drop indicated a further slimming of the country's forex reserves, which stood at $597.728 billion on Friday after a $2.695 billion drop. This was the eighth straight week of decline since Russia attacked Ukraine in February.

In the evening, Mr Gandhi tweeted:

The Congress has already slammed what they called the rupee reaching the ICU (intensive Care Unit).

Tweeting a clip of PM Modi's remarks on the rupee when he was the Gujarat Chief Minister, the Congress tweeted: "Rupee hits ALL-TIME LOW, trading beyond 77.20 per dollar! As gloom & dismay engulfs the nation, former CM of Gujarat hits out strongly at the Prime Minister & his govt. Listen in:"

Insisting that such a thing has never happened in the 75 years since Independence, Congress's Randeep Surjewala said: "Indian rupee is in ICU (intensive care unit) under PM Modi's government... Life has become unbearable and expensive, whether it is petrol, diesel, cooking gas, CNG, PNG, or eatables. Everything has gone beyond the reach of common people".

Ahead of the 2014 elections, PM Modi had consistently criticised the UPA government led by Manmohan Singh regarding the country's economy.

At a function in Mehsana in August 2013, he said, "There was a time when Indian rupee was making lots of noise. But today it has lost its voice. And similarly we are unable to hear the voice of our Prime Minister. Both have turned mute".