Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu on Monday took a dig at the Narendra Modi government and sarcastically asserted that value of the rupee against dollar and price of petrol might “hit a century”.
“The value of rupee is falling down rapidly with every passing day. I am not surprised if it touches Rs 100 per dollar in the coming days. The prices of petrol and diesel are shooting up steeply and very soon, the price of petrol might touch Rs 100 per litre,” Hindustan Times quoted Naidu as saying at a press conference in Amravati.
Naidu also said that India’s growth rate had declined and that there was no financial discipline in the country. “They are going to hit a century. And, the rupee will also touch the century mark. You can then buy petrol paying a dollar,” said Naidu.
Previously an NDA ally, the Telugu Desam Party(TDP) quit the coalition earlier this year citing that the Bharatiya Janata Party (Party) had reneged on its promise to provide Andhra Pradesh with special status.
Naidu also criticised demonetisation, saying that the Modi government did not heed his advice when he was part of the coalition. He said that he had recommended that Rs 2000 and Rs 500 notes be banned and digital transactions encouraged, along with making small notes of Rs 200 and Rs 100 available. “But, the NDA government did the exact opposite to what I had suggested as the convenor of digital economy. I demand that the Modi government ban Rs 2,000 and Rs 500 notes at least now and make smaller currency available for the people,” he said.