New Delhi, March 20 As the rupee fell to an all-time low against the US dollar amid mounting geopolitical tensions, senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor said on Friday that the BJP-led Centre should have the "grace" to withdraw its earlier claim that the Indian currency's decline under the UPA government was somehow a fault of the then prime minister.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event here, Tharoor said this decline is "because of international forces beyond our government's control" and it places in perspective what happened when the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) was in power.
The rupee crashed 64 paise to settle at an all-time low of 93.53 against the US dollar on Friday, weighed down by persistent foreign-fund outflows and a steep rise in crude oil prices amid mounting geopolitical tensions.
Forex traders said the Indian rupee is under tremendous pressure as surging crude oil prices and a shift toward risk-aversion have dented investor sentiments.
"This is something we have been witnessing over some time now. I think the government should at least have the grace to withdraw its earlier claim that the decline of the rupee under the UPA government was somehow a fault of the (then) prime minister. This decline is because of international forces beyond our government's control and I think that places in perspective what happened during our time as well," the former Union minister said.
"So I think the rupee is of course subjected to a great deal of volatility these days. And if it has gone down against the dollar, even worse, against the euro or the Swiss franc or other currencies, so we are not doing well," he added.
The fall of the Indian rupee also comes in the backdrop of a raging conflict in West Asia that has impacted the global economy.
Tharoor said for those who need to travel abroad or purchase goods from foreign countries for importers, it is a "really critical time".
Describing the fall of the Indian currency as a "shocking" situation, the former diplomat pointed out that people are saying it might go further down.
"I think the government should also have the grace to acknowledge that their earlier criticism of the UPA on this was certainly not warranted," he said.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), when it was in the opposition at the time of the UPA government, had often targeted the Centre, the Congress and then prime minister Manmohan Singh over economic issues.