Fact Check: Did FM say 'not to be concerned about currency fluctuation'?

New Delhi, May 16: The Indian rupee on Thursday plunged sharply to hit a new all-time low of 77.59 in early trade against the U.S. dollar amid a broader decline in Asian currencies and a lacklustre trend in the domestic equity markets.

The reason behind the drop in value of the Rupee could be blamed on the demand for riskier assets and also because the foreign investors continue to dump the domestic stocks.

However, a message claiming Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, justifying the fall in the value of the Indian rupee as compared to the US dollar, has been doing rounds on various social media platforms.

"My family buys groceries & other things with Indian rupees, we don't use US Dollars. Why should we be concerned about Dollar value then? #RupeeVsDollar," the parody handle had tweeted.

My family buys groceries & other things with Indian rupees, we don't use US Dollars. Why should we be concerned about Dollar value then? #RupeeVsDollar pic.twitter.com/NlXbl72IOd

— Rofl Gandhi 2.0 🏹 (@RoflGandhi_) May 12, 2022

In a tweet, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) debunked the claims falsely attributed to Nirmala Sitharaman.

"A picture of Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman is being circulated on social media giving a statement on the value of Rupee and Dollar. #PIBFactCheck:This Claim is #Fake.No such Statement has been given by the Finance Minister," it had remarked.

A picture of Union Finance Minister @nsitharaman is being circulated on social media giving a statement on the value of Rupee and Dollar.

#PIBFactCheck:

▶️ This Claim is #Fake

▶️ No such Statement has been given by the Finance Minister. pic.twitter.com/PDIp9ktSfU

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) May 15, 2022