Ruling out any possibility of entering politics, former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Sunday said he is happy being a professor and it’s the job he likes.
On being asked if he had an offer from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to join the Rajya Sabha, he said, “No comments on whether I was offered anything. When I was in RBI, people were desperate to get me off to IMF, when I am back as professor, people are desperate to see me elsewhere. I am very happy being a professor. I have my brain working many hours of day. It is a job I like.”
On possibility to join politics, Rajan said, “The answer is no...on issue of politics my wife says very clearly no.”
The AAP had approached Rajan offering him a Rajya Sabha seat from Delhi, which was reportedly rejected by the ex-RBI governor.
In a recorded interview played at the Times Litfest here, Rajan, without disclosing much details, said he is working on another book.
This book will be “an attempt to understand better the world we live in. The issue of identity, issue of community and how it impinges on the broader process of economic integration and growth”, he said.
His last book, titled ‘I do what I do’ was released in September, touched various aspects of the Indian economy.
He also talked about issues like tolerance and connection between political freedom and prosperity in the book, which was a collection of essays and speeches during his stint as the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor.
Talking about the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Rajan said it is good in the long run even though there are some issues.
{{/usCountry}}Talking about the Goods and Services Tax (GST), Rajan said it is good in the long run even though there are some issues.
{{/usCountry}}“There is need to remove the glitches,” he observed.
On the relationship between the RBI and the government, the former central bank governor said that it has been developed over the years and it is largely of mutual respect.
“Yes, there are frictions which are always there in any relationship,” he said.
To a question if autonomy of the RBI as an institution compromised, he said, he is not alarmed.
The RBI functions under the government and complete independence is not possible, he said. PTI DP MKJ