India's Central Bank Reiterates "We won't take Temple or Shrine gold"

I'm sure the RBI is sincere when they say they won't turn the Temple Trusts' gold into bullion but I can't help thinking of one of my favorite Warren quotes:

"He lied like a finance minister on the eve of a devaluation"
-Warren Buffett

On August 31 the Economic Times reported:

RBI plans to request Tirupati, Shirdi shrines to sell their gold pile to rescue Re fall

Followed by the parent, The Times of India's contradiction:

No plan to convert temple gold into bullion: RBI

FT Alphaville has the backstory:

FT Alphaville readers are well versed on the potential downsides of collateral scarcity in western markets.

But consider how a collateral scarcity problem might unfold in an emerging market in which the most valued form of collateral isn’t national debt denominated in your own debt but rather a commodity like gold, whose supply is dictated by externalities outside of a government’s control?

It’s something to keep in mind when assessing the following news via Mineweb on Tuesday:

Hinting at more measures to curb gold imports, India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, admitted in Parliament on August 30th that the current account deficit had gone up sharply and that it was affecting the value of the rupee. In his statement on the current economic situation he made several references to gold that rung alarm bells across the country....MUCH MORE

 Sripuram Golden Temple: