NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday questioned the Centre over reports suggesting that India may have offloaded part of its gold reserves to support foreign currency assets, as the rupee continued to weaken against the US dollar. At the time of reporting, the rupee was trading at 95.691 per US dollar, up 0.45%.
Reacting to a news report claiming that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may have sold some gold holdings to cushion foreign exchange assets amid geopolitical pressures linked to the Iran conflict, Kejriwal sought clarity from the government on the state of the economy.
In a post on X, the former Delhi Chief Minister asked whether the report was true and raised concerns about the implications of such a move.
“Is this news true? Is the country’s gold being sold? Has the government become so bankrupt? In the last 76 years, there have been many occasions when the country faced difficulties, but gold was never sold. Does this mean the situation is extremely bad? Why doesn’t the government tell us anything? What is the state of the country?” he wrote.
He added: “Modi ji says that he will just pick up his bag and leave. But we have to stay here, we have to live in this very country.”
The remarks come amid ongoing discussions around the RBI’s monetary policy stance ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which began on 3 June. The six-member panel is expected to consider interest rates, inflation trends, and broader economic conditions before the RBI Governor announces the policy decision on 5 June.
Meanwhile, SBI Research has argued that there is no need to increase the repo rate despite pressure on the rupee, elevated crude oil prices, and global uncertainty. Instead, it suggested that the central bank could rely on short-term rate tools and liquidity management measures.
The report stated: “So should there be a repo rate hike? No.”
It also recommended measures such as widening the interest rate corridor and using tools like “Operation Twist” to manage volatility and support the rupee without raising borrowing costs across the economy.
SBI Research has projected India’s GDP growth at 7.5% for FY26, while cautioning that geopolitical developments could influence future economic performance and policy decisions.
(With the ANI)