New Delhi [India], June 3 (ANI): Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday questioned the Centre over the alleged offloading of some of India's gold reserve to protect the country's foreign-currency assets after the rupee continued to depreciate against US dollars. As of filing of this article the Rupee was valued at 95.691 to the US dollar a gain of 0.45%.

Reacting to a news article that claimed India's central bank may have offloaded part of its gold holdings to shield foreign-currency assets from the fallout of the Iran war, Kejriwal sought clarity from the government on the country's economic situation.

In a post on X, the former Delhi Chief Minister asked whether the report was accurate and expressed concern over 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 said, '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 came amid discussions over the RBI's monetary policy strategy ahead of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting that began on June 3. The six-member panel is expected to deliberate on interest rates, inflation and broader economic conditions before the RBI Governor announces the policy decision on June 5.

Meanwhile, a report by SBI Research argued that the RBI does not need to raise the repo rate to tackle pressure on the rupee despite elevated crude oil prices and global uncertainties. The report suggested that the central bank could instead rely on short-term interest rate tools and liquidity management measures.

'So should there be repo rate hike? NO!' the report stated, while advocating a data-driven approach to monetary policy.

SBI Research also recommended measures such as widening the interest rate corridor and using instruments like 'Operation Twist' to address market volatility and support the rupee without increasing borrowing costs across the economy.

The report projected India's GDP growth at 7.5 per cent for FY26, while cautioning that geopolitical developments could influence future economic outcomes and policy decisions. (ANI)