New Delhi, Aug 24 (India Today) : As the rupee hit a fresh two-year low of 66.47 to a dollar , a belligerent Congress launched another round of attack on the Narendra Modi wondering if the fall will now match the age of BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani, who is 87.
"The rupee has crossed Prime Minister Narendra Modi's age. It has also crossed Finance Minister Arun Jaitley's age. Will it now touch Lal Krishna Advani's age?" Congress spokesperson RS Surjewala asked. While Modi is 64, Jaitley is 62.
Jaitley was seen fire-fighting the bloodbath on Dalal Street on Monday, assuring the country that India will not be affected. "For the last few days there has been a great amount of turbulence which has been caused in the global markets. And obviously that turbulence has had its impact on the Indian markets itself," he said.
"Factors responsible for this are entirely external. There's not a single domestic factor in India which has contributed or added to it," Jaitley added, saying the country will still emerge as a leading economic superpower.
The Reserve Bank of India fixed the reference rate of rupee at 66.5093 against the US dollar and 76.2729 for the euro as against 65.8298 and 74.2692 respectively, last Friday.
According to an RBI statement, the exchange rates for the pound and the yen against the rupee were quoted at 104.0072 and 54.97 per 100 yen, respectively, based on reference rates for the dollar and cross-currency quotes at noon. The SDR-rupee rate will be based on this rate, the statement added.