The Indian rupee has once again taken a hit, breaching the 87-mark against the US dollar. On Monday, it was at 87.19 per dollar, down 55 paise from its previous value of 86.62 on Friday. The decline comes as the US dollar index surged over 1 per cent, following new tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump on Canada, Mexico and China – although he deferred the tariffs on the first two later.

This has again brought the fears of a global trade war and further weakened the rupee. As concerns over rising inflation and increased import costs grow, all focus is now on the Reserve Bank of India’s monetary policy review later this week.

While global factors have played a role in the rupee’s depreciation, political reactions have changed significantly over time. Before 2014, when the BJP was in the Opposition, its leaders were quite vocal in blaming the Congress-led UPA government for every slide of the rupee.

From branding it a matter of “national shame” to calling for immediate elections, BJP leaders left no stone unturned in their criticism. A decade later, with the rupee at an even worse position, the same voices have fallen silent.

Here’s take a look at what these BJP ministers had to say back then.

Ravi Shankar Prasad (PTI)

Ravi Shankar Prasad: Rupee fall proof of govt lies

On July 10, 2013, BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad, then Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, declared that the rupee’s slide to 60.15 per dollar was a direct result of the UPA government’s “gross mismanagement” of the economy.

“Apart from seriously hurting national pride, this drastic fall is proof that India’s economic fundamentals are not strong, despite the government’s repeated claims,” Prasad, who is now a Union minister, had said in a press statement.

Prasad also criticised the UPA’s dependence on foreign investments, calling it a fragile model.

“This excessive dependence on uncertain foreign investment has created its own complication. If foreign money can come easily it goes also swiftly,” he had said

He had accused the Congress-led government of creating an investment environment plagued by corruption, indecision and policy paralysis.

With the rupee now at an all-time low under BJP’s rule, it is not known if he still considers the currency’s movement a matter of national pride.

Venkaiah Naidu (PTI)

Venkaiah Naidu: Rupee falls, call for elections

On September 1, 2013, BJP leader Venkaiah Naidu, then a senior BJP leader, had a simple solution to the rupee crisis: Dissolve the government.

“The country cannot afford a paralytic government. It is better to end this uncertainty and go for fresh elections at the earliest,” he had said in Chennai.

Linking the rupee’s fall to rising fuel prices and economic instability, Naidu claimed that people no longer wanted the Congress-led UPA government. He also accused then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh of being more concerned about his image than the nation’s economic woes.

“As the head of the government, he is the custodian. Either he should fix accountability and sack the person responsible or he himself should own up the responsibility,” Naidu had said.

TTO File image

Nitin Gadkari: UPA-zone, not Eurozone, to blame

On May 24, 2012, Nitin Gadkari, then the BJP president, dismissed the UPA’s claims that global factors were responsible for the rupee’s depreciation.

“The problem isn’t the Eurozone; it’s the UPA-zone,” he said, blaming the Congress for economic paralysis.

Gadkari warned that India’s forex reserves were under pressure and accused the government of pushing Indian entrepreneurs to invest abroad. “Under the leadership of our economist-Prime Minister, the rupee is in a state of free fall,” he said.

“Two days back, on 22nd May, the Congress-led UPA completed eight years in office. It has become a lame-duck government.When farmers are committing suicide, rupee is falling, essential commodities are getting costlier, and the UPA is celebrating mindlessly. From Mumbai, the BJP sends out a message loud and clear to this corrupt, scandal-ridden, anti-poor, anti-development and increasingly unpopular government: Your days are numbered. People of India cannot afford to have any more of your misrule. And they have made up their mind to throw you out- lock, stock and barrel. It’s time for the BJP-led NDA to come back, clear the mess you have created, and take the nation on the path to progress,” he had said.

Piyush Goyal (PTI)

Piyush Goyal: Twitter (now X) diagnosis, then and now?

On June 26, 2013, BJP leader Piyush Goyal had posted on his social media:

‘Very distressing to see the rupee losing its value. The UPA is responsible for mismanaging the economy.’

X/Shahnawaz Hussain

Shahnawaz Hussain: Resign if you can’t fix it

In 2013, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain took a jab at Manmohan Singh, questioning his credentials as an economist.

“If he cannot control the slide of the rupee or improve the state of the economy, he has no right to continue in office and should step down,” Hussain had said.

“Manmohan Singh became the finance minister and later the prime minister of this country due to his reputation of being a great economist” he also said.

Wikipedia/Prakash Javadekar

Prakash Javadekar: No ideas, no governance

In 2013, Prakash Javadekar, then a BJP spokesperson, diagnosed the UPA government’s economic failures in one line: “complete bankruptcy of ideas, indecision, and non-governance.”

He blamed the rupee’s fall on poor leadership, saying, “Manmohan Singh and his ministers are clearly responsible.”

Javadekar stated that timely action on infrastructure and trade could have prevented the rupee’s decline.

Facebook/Subramanian Swamy

Subramanian Swamy: Rs 35 per dollar if Modi comes

On April 27, 2014, Subramanian Swamy, who has a love-hate relationship with Narendra Modi and the BJP, had predicted: “If NDA forms the next government, and Modi becomes Prime Minister, the rupee will strengthen to Rs 35 per dollar within two years.”

Ouch.