MAIN MENU
As rupee trades near ₹95.4 per dollar in 2026, old Modi speech questioning rupee’s fall resurfaces
A viral reel republishes Narendra Modi’s pre-PM criticism of the falling rupee. Contemporary 2013 reporting supports the broader remarks; in August 2026 the rupee is near ₹95.4/$, but the exact date and venue of this specific clip remain unverified.
An Instagram reel posted by @ishowtrends.in republishes an older speech by Narendra Modi from his pre-prime-minister period, in which he challenges the Union government over the weakening Indian rupee.
What Modi says in the clip
In the approximately 25-second clip, Modi says he is himself in government and argues that the rupee cannot fall so rapidly. He compares India with neighbouring countries and asks why the Indian rupee is becoming weaker, ending with: “jawab dena padega aapko, desh aapse jawab maang raha hai” (“you will have to answer; the country is asking you for an answer”).
Context
The clip fits Modi’s documented 2013 criticism of the UPA government and then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh during a period of sharp rupee depreciation. Contemporary reports show that in August 2013 Modi repeatedly attacked the Centre over the falling currency. On 20 August 2013, when the rupee had breached ₹64 to the US dollar, he accused the government of being more concerned with retaining power than with the economy. Days later he also compared the silence of the prime minister with the weakened rupee.
The exact date, venue and full original recording from which this particular short clip was taken have not been independently established from the repost itself. The reel caption also quotes a separate, stronger line about a prime minister “falling” with the currency; that sentence is not spoken in the 25-second reel transcript, so this record does not attribute that line to this clip.
Why the clip resurfaced
The archival relevance is the contrast between Modi’s opposition-era rhetoric and the rupee’s level while he is prime minister. On 12 August 2026, Reuters reported the rupee around ₹95.4 per US dollar, with pressure linked especially to elevated oil prices amid the US-Iran conflict; traders also reported likely Reserve Bank of India intervention. The exchange rate therefore does not by itself prove or disprove the quality of a government’s leadership: currencies move for multiple domestic and international reasons.
Record note
This is best read as an archive of political rhetoric and later context, not as evidence that one office-holder alone caused either the 2013 or 2026 exchange-rate movement. The older remarks are supported by contemporary reporting, while the precise provenance of this specific excerpt remains unresolved.
