Congress destroyed country to save a dynasty: Modi
Vijayapura (Karnataka), May 8 : Accusing the Congress of destroying the country to promote a dynasty, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday and said the party was now getting destroyed while trying to save that dynasty (Nehru-Gandhi family).
"One thing is clear -- the Congress destroyed the nation in promoting a dynasty. Today, to save that dynasty, the Congress is getting destroyed," he said at a rally here.
Modi also targeted the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government in the poll-bound state, saying there was "not even a single Minister who has not faced allegations of corruption".
The Prime Minister accused the Congress of trying to gain votes by seeking to divide communities.
He claimed that the Congress was spreading lies on the issue of women's security and said that a daughter is a daughter, irrespective of the community she belongs to.
"Whether a daughter is of a Hindu, a Muslim, or a Christian, a daughter is a daughter. Whichever community or religion she belongs to, a daughter should be respected or not? She should get security or not?" he asked.
The Prime Minister also accused the Congress of not supporting the triple talaq bill in the Rajya Sabha.
"I am surprised. The Congress steeped in vote bank politics is giving lectures and, on the other hand, Muslim women are asked to leave houses after triple talaq. We bought a bill on triple talaq. The Congress did not allow it to be passed in Parliament," he said.
Referring to Congress President Rahul Gandhi, he said the opposition party was in such a situation that their leaders did not have faith in their 'naamdar' (dynasty) leader.
In an apparent reference to United Progressive Alliance Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's rally at Vijayapura during the day, he said that Congress leaders were now saying that if she canvasses in the state, it can at least save the security deposits of Congress candidates.
Modi said he had on Monday watched an interview of a Congress leader who said that the son (Congress President Rahul Gandhi) "will not be able to do anything".
"If you bring the mother (Sonia) to Karnataka and she does something, then maybe the deposits can be saved. This is what Congress leaders have started speaking," Modi said.
Modi referred to Vijayapura as the birth place of Lord Basaveshwara, a 12th century social reformer and philosopher who founded the Lingayat religious tradition, and targeted the Siddaramaiah government over its move to recommend minority community status for the Lingayats in the southern state.
He said Lord Basaveshwara's message was against divisions of caste and community but the state government had got into a habit of working against his message and of forgetting his words.
"Bhagwan Basaveshwara conveyed that everyone should be taken along. This Congress government is dividing communities, castes, voters... divide and rule, pit one against the other. They want to save their chair. But Congress leaders do not know this is the land of Bhagwan Basaveshwara. It is not going to be divided into communities and will not accept division among brothers. They will remove the Congress but will not allow (spread of) the poison of casteism," Modi said.
Without taking names, Modi targeted state Water Resources Minister M.B. Patil and said: "Here, everyone knows about how contracts are awarded, how bundles of notes were found in the almirahs of contractors."
He said Bharatiya Janata Party's philosophy was inspired by the teachings of saints of Karnataka and it was seeking votes in the name of development.
Modi said lakhs of people in Karnataka had benefited from his government's schemes on cooking gas connections and electricity connections.
The Prime Minister announced steps for the benefit of local farmers, including a food processing unit and agri-horticultural unit, and Rs 2-lakh insurance for landless labourers.
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Rupee falls 1 paisa to fresh all-time low of 84.32 against US dollar
Mumbai, Nov 7: The rupee slipped 1 paisa to close at a fresh lifetime low of 84.32 against the US dollar on Thursday, as weak domestic equities and sustained foreign fund outflows dented market sentiment.
Forex traders said investors were also cautious ahead of the US Fed meeting outcome. Moreover, overnight gains in crude oil prices also weighed on the local unit.
However, a correction in the dollar index against major currencies helped the rupee and restrained the slide, they added.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened at 84.26 against the US dollar. During the session, the local currency touched a high of 84.26 and a low of 84.38. It finally settled at 84.32, a loss of just 1 paisa against its previous close.
On Wednesday, the rupee depreciated 22 paise to close at an all-time low of 84.31 against the US dollar.
The rupee touched fresh record lows again on the back of weak domestic equities and sustained FII outflows. However, the softening of the US Dollar index from Wednesday's highs cushioned the downside, forex traders said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.22 per cent lower at 104.86.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.32 per cent to USD 74.68 per barrel in futures trade.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on overall strength in the US Dollar on the back of Donald Trump’s victory in the US Presidential elections and FII outflows. However, softening of commodity prices amid easing geopolitical risk premium may support the rupee at lower levels," said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Sharekhan by BNP Paribas.
Any intervention by the RBI may also support the rupee at lower levels. Traders may take cues from weekly unemployment claims data from the US and FOMC meeting decisions. The Bank of England's monetary policy decision is also due.
"With Asian currencies down, US Dollar up, and yields up, the RBI does not have any option but to allow the rupee to fall to ensure that REER remains competitive for our exports.
"If the FOMC is a bit hawkish in its tone or does not cut rates today or says it will not cut in December, then we could see another fall in rupee to the extent of 84.50," Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director, Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP, said.
BoE and FOMC are expected to cut interest rates by 25 bps. USD/INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 84.15 to 84.60, Choudhary said.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex fell 836.34 points, or 1.04 per cent, to close at 79,541.79 points, while Nifty declined 284.70 points, or 1.16 per cent, to settle at 24,199.35 points.
Foreign institutional investors (FIIs) were net sellers in the capital markets on Thursday, as they offloaded shares worth Rs 4,888.77 crore, according to exchange data.
"Importers need to be covered for any imports to be paid in November and for December should buy any dip near 84. Exporters are likely to book on every uptick of 25 paise after watching the markets," Bhansali said.
