Attacks on me abominable, could have stayed on: Rajan

NEW DELHI: Outgoing RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Wednesday termed the political attacks on him as “abominable”, and said he was open to staying a bit longer to complete the unfinished work of bank clean-up.

HT Image

Rajan’s comments, in an interview to CNBC-TV18, will lend credence to opposition allegations that the banker was hounded out of the country by a section in the NDA government.

“I was open for staying a little while longer…but at the same time I was perfectly happy to go,” said the 53-year-old academician who had famously predicted the 2008 global economic meltdown.

He announced in June he won’t seek a second term. His term ends on September 4.

Rajan said the process of dialogue with the government did not reach a stage where he could have agreed to stay on.

He, however, said he was never worried about reappointment or a future career in the government. Calling himself the “best team player”, he said he did what was best for the country.

Rajan has had a rocky relation with the government and was often accused of hurting economic growth by refusing to cut interest rates.

BJP parliamentarian Subramanian Swamy launched a sustained campaign against Rajan, saying the RBI chief should be sacked “as he was mentally not fully Indian”.