Rupee breaches 94-level against US dollar intraday; ends flat
Mumbai (PTI): The rupee breached the 94-level against the US dollar for the first time on Monday, before closing flat at 93.53, amid a correction in global crude prices.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the local unit opened at 93.84 and breached the 94-mark against the US dollar for the first time in intraday trade. However, the unit recovered all lost ground to settle unchanged at 93.53.
The rupee went past the 93-mark against the greenback on Friday after crashing 64 paise to settle at 93.53.
"The rupee hit fresh all-time lows on Friday and breached the 94-mark for the first time amid escalating geopolitical tensions in West Asia and weak domestic markets. Surge in crude oil prices and FII outflows, too, weighed on the rupee," Anuj Choudhary, Research Analyst, Mirae Asset ShareKhan, said.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias as deteriorating global sentiments and geopolitical tensions may keep the rupee under pressure. However, time-to-time intervention by the Reserve Bank may support the rupee at lower levels," he said, adding that the USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of Rs 93.60-94.40.
The dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.14 per cent higher at 99.78.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading 1.11 per cent lower at USD 113.4 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the Sensex crashed 1,836.57 points, or 2.46 per cent, to 72,696.39, while Nifty slumped 484.30 points, or 2.10 per cent, to 22,630.20.
Foreign institutional investors sold equities worth Rs 10,414.23 crore on a net basis on Monday, according to exchange data.
Meanwhile, India's forex reserves dropped USD 7.052 billion to USD 709.759 billion during the week ended March 13, the RBI said on Friday.
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CM Siddaramaiah alleges ‘criminal conspiracy’ in Sringeri recount, vows legal action
Bengaluru (PTI): Alleging a “criminal conspiracy” by BJP candidate D N Jeevaraj in the Sringeri Assembly poll recounting, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said the outcome was manipulated after valid postal ballot votes in favour of Congress leader T D Raje Gowda were tampered with during the recounting process.
Following a Karnataka High Court order on an election petition filed by Jeevaraj, challenging Raje Gowda’s election, the reverification and recounting were conducted on Saturday.
After the reverification and recount of postal ballots for the Sringeri Assembly constituency, votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda were reduced by 255, the returning officer said.
A report on the matter has been submitted to the Election Commission of India for further action, the officer added.
Congress leader Raje Gowda had won the 2023 Assembly polls from Sringeri by 201 votes, defeating his nearest rival Jeevaraj.
Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru, Siddaramaiah said the High Court had directed the recounting of postal ballots and that irregularities were noticed during the exercise conducted on May 2.
“This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” Siddaramaiah said, alleging that valid votes cast in favour of Raje Gowda were altered after being accepted by counting agents of all parties, including Congress, BJP, and JD(S).
He claimed that during the recounting of postal ballots, 255 votes were initially accepted as valid by all agents but were later tampered with by subordinate officials.
“There is a second mark on the votes polled in favour of Raje Gowda. They had accepted these as valid votes. Subsequently, another mark was made by officials. This is a clear case of criminal conspiracy,” he said.
When asked who was behind the alleged conspiracy, the CM replied, “It was hatched by Jeevaraj and others. It is planned.”
Siddaramaiah further alleged that the returning officer acted improperly by declaring the result despite the presence of an Election Commission observer during the recounting.
“Immediately after the counting, the returning officer announced the result. He should not have done so; this is against the law,” he said.
He pointed out that Raje Gowda had originally won by 201 votes, but after the recounting, the BJP candidate was declared the winner by 52 votes.
“The BJP has committed a criminal act of conspiracy. This is not vote chori but vote dacoity,” he alleged.
The CM said a police complaint had already been filed by Raje Gowda’s election agent, Sudhir Kumar, and emphasised the need for electoral integrity.
“We want transparency and free and fair elections. That is what our Constitution mandates,” he added.
Stating that the government would pursue legal remedies, Siddaramaiah said, “We are preparing an appeal challenging the returning officer’s announcement in a court of law.”
Responding to a separate query on elections in other states, the CM said there appeared to be an anti-incumbency factor in West Bengal, while results in Tamil Nadu were “surprising,” adding that Vijay’s party was emerging as the largest there.
Following the victory of party candidates in Bagalkote and Davanagere South, Siddaramaiah expressed confidence about future electoral prospects in Karnataka.
“Even in 2028, we will win the Assembly elections. We will come back,” the CM said.
Siddaramaiah added that he would order a forensic examination into the alleged tampering of postal ballots.
