BJP lawmaker Subramanian Swamy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi recommending that he “consider terminating the appointment” of Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan “effective immediately or when his term ends” in September. In his letter to the PM, dated yesterday, Mr Swamy has accused Dr Rajan of an “apparently deliberate attempt to wreck the Indian economy,” and contends that the RBI governor is “mentally not fully Indian.” since he continues to renew the Green Card issued to him by the US government. As an example of Dr Rajan’s actions that he alleges have hurt the economy, Mr Swamy cites what he calls the “disatrous” concept of containing inflation by raising interest rates. He has alleged that Dr Rajan’s decisions have squeezed small and medium business and increased unemployment in the country.
The letter follows Mr Swamy’s suggestion last week that Raghuram Rajan – who teaches at the Booth School of Business at Chicago University and is on leave to serve as the central bank’s governor – be “sent back to Chicago”. In his letter to the PM, Mr Swamy points out that it was the previous Congress led UPA government that appointed Dr Rajan. “It is Swamy who should go abroad and teach. That will put an end to chaos and blackmail in parliament every day,” the Congress’ C Hanumanth Rao had said after the BJP lawmaker’s attack on the RBI governor last week. .
Dr Rajan has not responded to the multiple attacks by Mr Swamy, who had hit out at Dr Rajan last year too. Appointed by the previous regime, Dr Rajan’s position was seen as precarious when the BJP came to power in 2014. But the governor has emphasized that there is a “respectful relationship” between the central bank and the government. Last year, PM Modi had publicly praised the RBI Governor for “perfectly” explaining complex economic issues to him in regular one-on-one meetings.
