Modi government, RSS affiliate want RBI governor Urjit Patel out, claims P Chidambaram

P Chidambaram on Saturday upped the ante against Central government and alleged that Modi government along with Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) wants Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urijit Patel to exit from the office.

It is a repeat of the Raghuram Rajan story, P Chidambaram said. (Image: PTI)

New Delhi: Former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Saturday upped the ante against the Central government and alleged that Modi government along with Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) wants Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urijit Patel to exit from the office. Chidambaram thinks that Raghuram Rajan story is being repeated as Prime Minister Narendra Modi is trying to remove RBI Governor Urjit Patel from his post because the SJM wants Patel to exit from the office. “Swadeshi Jagran Manch wants Urjit Patel out. That means the Modi government wants him to go. It is a repeat of the Raghuram Rajan story,” he tweeted. In another tweet, he quoted US Federal Reserve former Chairman Janet Yellen as saying: “Whittling away the legitimacy and stature of institutions the public has traditionally some confidence in, ultimately undermines social and economic stability," adding, "How true of India!” Recently, the head of the economic wing of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) said that RBI governor should work in sync with the government to support economic growth or he should resign. RBI Governor Urjit Patel should also ‘restrain his officials from making differences public,’ said the SJM chief Ashwani Mahajan while speaking to news agency Reuters. “If he doesn't follow discipline it would be better for him to resign,” he added. The ongoing spat between the RBI and the government have become increasingly public after the bank's Deputy Governor Viral Acharya last week stated that undermining central bank independence could be potentially catastrophic. Acharya’s comments indicated that the RBI was pushing back against government pressure to relax its policies and reduce its powers ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. In a statement, the government said on Wednesday the RBI's independence was an essential and accepted governance requirement, but it added that it would continue to extensively consult with the central bank to give its assessments on issues and suggest possible solutions.