Wearing black clothes, Congress MPs stage protest in Parliament
New Delhi(PTI) : Wearing black clothes, Congress MPs, led by party chief Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi, staged a protest in the Parliament House complex on Friday as they marched towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan as part of their nationwide stir against price rise, the GST hike on essential items and unemployment.
The protesting MPs of the opposition party raised slogans against the government demanding that the GST hike on essential items be withdrawn, with Sonia Gandhi standing with the women MPs of the party, holding a banner, outside gate number 1 of Parliament.
They were, however, stopped by the Delhi Police and not allowed to proceed towards the Rashtrapati Bhawan. Sonia Gandhi did not take part in the march. The other MPs were detained by police at Vijay Chowk.
"Again today, Congress MPs denied democratic right to protest against price rise, unemployment and GST. Bundled into police vans at Vijay Chowk. It's clear, only those who are afraid try to instill fear!" party leader Jairam Ramesh said in a tweet.
The Congress leaders, including former party chief Rahul Gandhi, wore black shirts and black bands on their arms as a mark of protest.
Leaders and workers of the Congress assembled at the party headquarters here to participate in the nationwide protest against price rise, the hike in the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on essential items and unemployment.
The party is also protesting against the alleged misuse of probe agencies by the government to target its leaders.
Top Congress leaders, including Rahul Gandhi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, reached the party headquarters in the morning.
The Delhi Police has denied permission to the opposition party to stage a protest in the national capital as prohibitory orders are in place in New Delhi district.
The Congress workers also seek to gherao Prime Minister Narendra Modi's residence as part of the protest.
The protesting Congress MPs tied lemons, chilies and empty packets of dairy products around their neck as a mark of protest.
Meanwhile, security at the Congress headquarters has been beefed up as the party workers, led by Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, are slated to gherao the prime minister's residence.
A large number of police personnel has been deployed at 24, Akbar road amid heavy rains in Central Delhi.
The entire lane leading up to the Congress office has been heavily barricaded and the media has also been barred to enter the party office.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rupee crashes 19 paise to settle at all-time low of 85.13 against US dollar
Mumbai, Dec 19: The rupee depreciated 19 paise and breached the crucial 85 level to close at a fresh all-time low of 85.13 against the US dollar on Thursday, as a hawkish stance from the US Federal Reserve sparked a broad dollar rally.
Forex traders said the Indian rupee breached the 85-mark for the first time and fell to a new record low as the US Federal Reserve adjusted its projections for 2025, signalling a more cautious monetary policy stance, pressuring emerging market currencies, including the Indian rupee.
The US Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.5 per cent, in line with estimates. However, it signalled only two rate cuts in 2025 from previous expectations of four rate cuts.
At the interbank foreign exchange, the rupee opened on a weak note and touched the lowest-ever level of 85.14 against the greenback during intra-day.
It finally ended the session at the lowest-ever closing level of 85.13 against the American currency, registering a steep decline of 19 paise over its previous close, as dollar demand from importers, foreign fund outflows and a muted trend in domestic equities further dented investor sentiments.
On Wednesday, the rupee dropped 3 paise to close at a record low of 84.94 against the US dollar.
"We expect the rupee to trade with a negative bias on global equities following a hawkish Fed and a strong dollar. Concerns over slowdown in the economy may further weigh on the rupee," said Anuj Choudhary – Research Analyst at Mirae Asset Sharekhan.
Choudhary further noted that any intervention by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may also support the rupee.
"Traders may take cues from final GDP, weekly unemployment claims, and existing home sales data from the US. USD-INR spot price is expected to trade in a range of 84.9 to 85.25," he said.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading lower by 0.13 per cent at 107.88.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, fell 0.05 per cent to USD 73.35 per barrel in futures trade.
In the domestic equity market, the 30-share BSE Sensex closed 964.15 points, or 1.20 per cent, down at 79,218.05 points, while Nifty settled down 247.15 points, or 1.02 per cent to 23,951.70 points.
Foreign Institutional Investors (FIIs) offloaded Rs 4,224.92 crore in the capital markets on net basis on Thursday, according to exchange data.
