Spokesperson: Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi: He said that the grant of pre-mature release to the convicts in the Bilkis Bano case is a stain on this Government’s legacy that will never wash off. It is Repugnant, Reprehensible and Revolting that an elected Government in a democracy chose to release these convicts in such a cavalier manner.

I. Shocking revelations came to light when the Modi Government, in its reply in the ongoing BilkisBano case before the Supreme Court, revealed that it had given its “concurrence and approval” for the release of the individuals convicted of gang rape and the murder of a 3.5-year-old child and various members of her family.

Now, constrained by the orders of the Hon’ble Supreme Court, the Modi Government has had to reveal that not only was the Ministry of Home Affairs aware of the release but that it actually supported the same, in defiance of objections by senior officials of the CBI and a Special Judge. The fact that the Modi Government actively suppressed this fact shows that even it was aware that the action was a condemnable one.

II. Despite the Modi Government’s desperate and clumsy attempts to justify this embarrassing and demeaning action, it is clear that the sole underlying calculation for the Modi Government was a raw political one.

Four facts make this even clearer:

First, the panel that had ordered the release had cited dubious justifications-such as the convicts belonged to “Brahmin” and “sanskari” families- for their release and even opined, without any basis or justification, that the convicts may have been “intentionally framed”.

Second, upon release, these convicts were felicitated by members of organizations which profess fellowship with the ruling party. Persons associated with the ruling party even made faltering and feeble attempts to justify this unjustifiable and craven decision.

Third, ALL the convicts were released in a mechanical manner. There was no application of mind as to the individual charges, cases or the facts of the original case. Was the panel acting under some compulsion that it reduced its process to an ostensible formality?

Fourth, the threat to BilkisBano’s life that such a decision posed was never considered.

All of the above, proves beyond a shadow of doubt that the release was a political decision made with not just the knowledge but the concurrence of those in the highest echelons of power in the Modi Government.

III. In light of the above, the following three questions arise for the Modi Government: 1) Why has the Modi Government, despite the objections of senior officials, sought to grant preferential treatment to individuals convicted of so reprehensible, horrific and heinous a crime? 2) Has the Modi Government decided to pardon all convicted rapists and child murderers who have served a certain period? With what face will the Modi Government now oppose demands for parole which cite this precedent? 3) Will such treatment be granted to all individuals who are accused of heinous offences? Or was this a limited time offer contingent on the upcoming elections? Tuesday October 18, 2022 Crash of rupee

Spokesperson: Dr. Anshul Avijit: He said that the rupee continues its free-fall against the dollar with disastrous consequences for our fragile economy. It has now breached the $ 83 mark and shows no signs of abating.

1. The rupee has fallen more than 10% so far in this calendar year and has reached lows of Rs. 83.12.
2. By comparison, during the UPA, the rupee was Rs. 58.4 to a dollar in May 2014 on the eve of the Shri Narendra Modi becoming PM.
3. PM Modi has completely forgotten his own narrative, when the BJP was in opposition. On August 20, 2013, the then CM of Gujarat, Shri Narendra Modi had said: “It is unfortunate that the leadership in Delhi is neither bothered about the security of the country nor about the decline in the value of the rupee.” With China in our territory and the rupee-affected inflation, the irony of Shri Modi’s statement cannot be more stark.
4. With her irresponsible and misguided statements, the Finance Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman is not ready to accept the reality of this government’s failure to control the falling rupee.
5. The falling rupee has an inverse relationship with inflation levels. According to the RBI, a 5% weakening of the rupee increases inflation by 20 bps. That is because imports become that much costlier - in particular, fuel, fertilisers and cooking oil. These commodities directly affect the common man and have a cascading effect on prices.
6. The Finance Minister’s outrageous comment that, ‘rupee is not sliding and dollar is strengthening’, ignores the fact that emerging economies such as Mexico and Brazil have actually strengthened their currencies vis-a-vis USD during this critical period.
7. India’s forex reserves have depleted by 15.4 % in year 2022 only with more than $ 110 billion having left the shores of this country. Our current account deficit (CAD) has reached 2.8, and is expected to rise well above 3%.
8. The weakening rupee, strengthening of the dollar and US interest rate hikes have also resulted in Foreign Institutional Investors (FII) rapidly pulling out. In this calendar year, FII have sold over $24 billion in local equities.

This is the proverbial perfect storm - weakening rupee, high levels of inflation, rising unemployment and poverty and hunger. The inept Modi government is clueless on macroeconomic management as this government is always in electioneering mode having no focus or concern on the economic issues. We fear, the worst is yet to come. Thursday, October 20, 2022