Raghuram Rajan not fit to be RBI Governor: Subramanian Swamy

New Delhi: Days after being nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), politician leader Subramanian Swamy on Thursday embarrassed his party by saying RBI governor Raghuram Rajan should be removed from his post as he is not fit for the nation. Swami's comments came after it was reported that the RBI governor on Wednesday had said foreign banks have stopped opening branches in India as they need to set aside a lot more capital due to the country's 'higher risk' credit rating. Delivering a lecture at Cambridge University, London, the RBI governor also said foreign banks think it is 'not worth' opening banks. It's those comments that likely made Swamy unhappy. "In my opinion, the RBI governor is not apt for our country. His move to increase the interest rates, so as to cut down inflation and stabilize the economy, has backfired and has badly affected the nation," Swamy told reporters. "All the industries have collapsed and as a result unemployment has increased. In my opinion, he should be removed as early as possible," he added. On Wednesday, in a lecture titled 'Why Banks?', as part of the Marshall Lecture 2015-16 series at Cambridge University, Rajan said that greater demand on banks to hold capital in the post financial crisis scenario has come at a cost. Incidentally, the Parliament on Wednesday passed the Finance Bill after an intense debate in the Rajya Sabha with the government making 21 amendments. The Lok Sabha passed the Finance Bill and Appropriation Bill last week and it was returned by the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.