Rahul Gandhi says Rupee not breaking, is broken
New Delhi, Oct 4 : As the Rupee hit a record low of Rs 73.77 against the US dollar, Congress President Rahul Gandhi Thursday said the Indian currency is not breaking, but is "broken".
The rupee collapsed to a fresh low of 73.77 against the US dollar Thursday, as global oil prices continued to rise, deepening concerns about the current account deficit and capital outflows.
"Breaking: Rupee slips to 73.77. It's not breaking - it's Broken," Gandhi said on Twitter.
Gandhi Wednesday hit out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi questioning his silence over the falling value of the Indian Rupee.
He tweeted in Hindi that fuel and gas prices are on the boil and there is an outcry in the public and asked till when the prime minister will be on silent mode.
"The rupee has crossed the 73 mark and price rise is causing an outcry. Fuel and gas prices are on fire and markets are scurrying. Till when will the 56-inch chest be on 'silent mode'," he tweeted and asked what happened to the promise of 'achche din'.
Consistent dollar demand from importers, mainly oil refiners, following higher crude oil prices, have kept the rupee under pressure.
State-owned oil marketing companies have been allowed to raise USD 10 billion from overseas market to meet their working capital needs.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened lower and slipped further to a fresh low of 73.77 a dollar against 73.34, a fall of 43 paise.
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NATO, others turn down US call for help in Hormuz: Trump
Washington (PTI): President Donald Trump on Tuesday said NATO and most of US' other allies have rejected his calls to help secure the Strait of Hormuz as the war with Iran entered the third week.
In a social media post, Trump asserted that Iran’s military has been “decimated” and he no longer felt the need for assistance from NATO countries or anyone else.
Last week, Trump had sought help from European nations and others who depend on oil supplies transiting from the Hormuz Strait to safeguard the critical waterway.
“The United States has been informed by most of our NATO “Allies” that they don’t want to get involved with our Military Operation against the Terrorist Regime of Iran, in the Middle East, this, despite the fact that almost every Country strongly agreed with what we are doing, and that Iran cannot, in any way, shape, or form, be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon,” the US President said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran's attacks on Gulf nations and its grip on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil is transported, have sparked increasing concerns of a global energy crisis and are unnerving the world economy.
“I am not surprised by their action, however, because I always considered NATO, where we spend Hundreds of Billions of Dollars per year protecting these same Countries, to be a one-way street — We will protect them, but they will do nothing for us, in particular, in a time of need,” Trump said.
He said Australia, Japan and South Korea too have turned down his call for help.
“Fortunately, we have decimated Iran’s Military – Their Navy is gone, their Air Force is gone, their Anti-Aircraft and Radar is gone and perhaps, most importantly, their Leaders, at virtually every level, are gone, never to threaten us, our Middle Eastern Allies, or the World, again,” Trump said.
He said that given the scale of recent military successes, the US no longer "need" or desires assistance from NATO countries, adding that it never relied on such support in the first place.
Speaking as President of the United States, the "most powerful" country in the world, "we do not need" help from anyone, Trump said.
The West Asia conflict began on February 28 when the US-Israeli combine conducted airstrikes on Iran.
The Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, has effectively been shut following the US and Israel attack on Iran and Tehran's sweeping retaliation.
However, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said that from Tehran's "perspective", the strait is "open". "It is only closed to Iran's enemies, to those who carried out unjust aggression against our country and to their allies.”
Earlier in the day, a second Indian-flagged LPG tanker, Nanda Devi, reached the country after safely sailing from the war-hit Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, the first ship, Shivalik, reached Mundra port in Gujarat.
As of now, 22 Indian vessels remain on the west side and two on the east side of the strait.
Indian authorities are in constant touch with all the relevant stakeholders in the region to secure the safe passage of the remaining ships, officials said.
