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NEW DELHI: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday questioned the Centre over reports claiming that the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) may have offloaded a portion of the country’s gold reserves to protect foreign-currency assets amid pressure on the rupee.
Reacting to a media report suggesting that India’s central bank may have sold part of its gold holdings to shield foreign-currency reserves from the impact of the ongoing Iran conflict and global economic uncertainties, Kejriwal sought clarity from the government regarding the country’s economic condition.
In a post on social media platform X, the former Delhi Chief Minister asked whether the report was accurate and expressed concern 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 such occasions when the country was in a difficult situation. But the country’s gold was never sold. Does that mean the situation is extremely bad? Why doesn’t the government tell us anything? What is the state of the country?” Kejriwal wrote.
He further stated, “Modi ji says that he will just pick up his bag and leave. But we have to stay right here, we have to live in this very country.”
The remarks come amid discussions surrounding the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy strategy ahead of the meeting of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which commenced on June 3. The six-member panel is expected to deliberate on interest rates, inflation trends and broader economic conditions before the policy decision is announced by the RBI Governor on June 5.
Meanwhile, a report by SBI Research argued that the RBI does not need to increase the repo rate to address pressure on the rupee despite elevated crude oil prices and prevailing global uncertainties.
The report suggested that the central bank could instead utilise short-term interest rate instruments and liquidity management measures to stabilise the currency.
“So should there be repo rate hike? NO!” the report stated, advocating a data-driven and calibrated approach to monetary policy.
SBI Research also recommended measures such as widening the interest rate corridor and deploying instruments like Operation Twist to manage market volatility and support the rupee without increasing borrowing costs across the economy.
The report projected India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth at 7.5 per cent for the financial year 2025-26, while cautioning that geopolitical developments and global market conditions could continue to influence economic outcomes and policy decisions in the months ahead.(Agencies)
