Online petition seeking extension of Raghuram Rajan’s stint at RBI gets mass support
As speculation is rife over whether the Government of India is going to extend the tenure of RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, which currently expires in September, a petition seeking an extension of his contract has attracted more than 35,000 signatures in just three days.
The petition posted on Change.org by Bengaluru-based Rajesh Palaria reads as follows:
Dear Shri Modi ji, I as a citizen of India would like to attract your vision to Mr Raghuram Rajan. He has been doing a great job by balancing and maneuvering Indian economy through the populism which endangers it. His past records and laurels are well known to Indians everywhere and his international recognition is elaborate enough in public domain. I was recently noticing how Shri Subramanian Swamy ji has been bullying and threatening him at large. I request all of my fellow citizens to sign this petition and seek Shri Modi ji to depute Mr Raghuram Rajan for 2nd term as RBI Governor. He is very crucial for India Growth Story now. Thanks
This comes after BJP MP Subramanian Swamy had recently thoroughly criticised Rajan and wrote to the PM calling for his sacking even before his current term ends.
As against Swamy’s staunch criticism, the former Chief Economist at IMF has been lauded by independent analysts, politicians in the opposition and global investors for his calibrated rate cuts. Even the Finance Minister had publicly affirmed his support to Rajan.
Rajan has, in the past, held several important positions such as the Chief Economic Adviser to the Government of India and is known for his strong statements on the state of the economy.
Recently, he had said, “India is the fastest-growing large economy in the world. But as a central banker, I cannot get euphoric with India's economic growth rate as it is at the cusp of substantial pick-up in growth. I see scope to grow faster given capacity utilisation and agricultural output."