Rupee rout deepens, slips 16 paise to 74.44 against USD
Mumbai: The Indian rupee fell by another 16 paise to 74.44 against the US dollar on Friday as financial markets around the globe continued to feel jitters of coronavirus pandemic.
A day earlier, the Indian currency had tumbled by 60 paise to close at a new 17-month low of 74.28 amid coronavirus pandemic fanning global economic recession fears.
Meanwhile, the global crude oil benchmark Brent Futures fell 0.87 per cent to trade at USD 32.93 per barrel.
A sense of anxiety among investors has developed as they see the global economy is plunging into a deep crisis due to coronavirus pandemic that has killed about 5,000 and sickened lakhs of people around the globe, analysts said.
Amid the heavy rush for the US dollar in forex markets, the Reserve Bank announced liquidity measures such as buy-sell swap of USD 2 billion to increase dollar availability with banks and ease pressure on rupee.
In the current month so far, FPIs have pulled out a whopping Rs 33,163 crore (USD 4.46 billion) from Indian capital markets.
Meanwhile, the Indian equity market saw another tumultuous opening session for a second day on Friday, with the benchmark Sensex plunging over 3,000 points to trade below the psychological 30,000 level; while the NSE gauge Nifty crashed nearly 1,000 points to dip below the 9,000 mark.
Indian bourses halted trading for 45 minutes during the early session after both the benchmark indices Sensex and Nifty hit their lower circuit limits.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
