NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday questioned the Center over reports suggesting that India may have unloaded some of its gold reserves to shore up 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 that claimed the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may have sold some gold reserves to soften 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 questioned 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? Is the government so bankrupt? In the last 76 years there have been many times when the country has had difficulties, but the gold has never been sold. Does this mean the situation is extremely bad? Why is the government not telling us anything? How is the country doing?” he wrote.
He added: “Modi ji says he will just take his bag and leave. But we have to stay here, we have to live in this very place.”
The remarks come amid ongoing discussions about the RBI’s monetary policy stance ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting, which began on June 3. 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 June 5.
Meanwhile, SBI Research has argued that there is no need to raise the repo rate despite pressure on the rupee, elevated crude oil prices and global uncertainty. Instead, he suggested the central bank could rely on short-term rate tools and liquidity management measures.
The report said: “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 forecast India’s GDP growth at 7.5% for FY26, while warning that geopolitical developments could impact future economic performance and policy decisions.
(With ANI)
