Wondered whether Modi govt 'deserves' Rajan: Congress

May 28, 2016 14:59

Former finance minister P Chidambaram on Saturday wondered whether the Modi government "deserves" Raghuram Rajan, describing him as "one of the most outstanding economists in the world", amid an unrelenting

attack by Bharatiya Janata Party MP Subramanian Swamy against the governor.

"I am beginning to think whether this government deserves Dr Rajan," he replied when asked whether he should be given a second term.

Rajan's 3-year term ends in the first week of September.

Interacting with reporters on two years of the Modi government at the Congress headquarters, Chidambaram first chose to ignore questions on Swamy's attack on Rajan, insisting that the Congress will respond if the prime minister and the finance minister speak against Rajan.

Defending Rajan, he said: "The United Progressive Alliance government appointed one of the most outstanding economists of the world as the RBI governor. We placed full confidence in him at that time and we continue to place full confidence in him today."

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi two days ago, Swamy asked him to sack Rajan, charging that his insistence on high interest rate had led to recession in the domestic small and medium industries causing not only a sharp decline in output, but also massive unemployment of semi-skilled labour.

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