Subramanian Swamy writes to PM Modi, seeks immediate termination of Raghuram Rajan

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: BJP MP from Rajya Sabha Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking immediate termination of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan.

Alleging that Rajan was "mentally not fully Indian" and has "wilfully" wrecked the economy, Swamy further wrote, ""Moreover he is in this country on a Green Card provided by the US government and therefore mentally not fully Indian. Otherwise why would he renew his Green Card as RBI Governor by making the mandatory annual visit to the US to keep the Green Card current?".

Swamy last week suggested that Rajan be removed from the post as he was responsible for "unemployment and collapse" of industrial activity.

"In my opinion, RBI Governor is not appropriate for the country. I don't want to speak much about him. He has hiked interest rates in the garb of controlling inflation that has damaged the country," he had earlier said.

The Governor's actions have "led to collapse of industry and rise of unemployment in the economy", he said. "The sooner he is sent back to Chicago, the better it would be."

Rajan is the on-leave Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

After assuming charge as RBI governor in September 2013, Rajan gradually raised the short-term lending rate from 7.25 percent to 8 percent and had retained the high rates throughout 2014.

He kept the rates high, citing inflationary concerns despite intense pressure from the Finance Ministry and the industry for softening them with a view to boosting growth.

The Governor began the process of lowering the rates in January 2015 and since then it has come down by 1.50 percent to 6.50 percent.

With Agency Inputs