Monday, December 10, 2018

Urjit Patel

The resignation of Urjit Patel is not surprising though the timing certainly is unexpected. It has robbed the London court ruling on Mallya extradition of its due share of discussion and limelight. Our exhilaration over India's victory in the Adelaide cricket test has been subdued thanks to this untimely development.

Urjit Patel has politely attributed his resignation to personal reasons. But the former Governor, Raghuram Rajan, has not been polite enough. In an interview to CNBC, he has characterised the departure as 'a statement of dissent'. When reminded that Urjit Patel has quoted personal reasons, Rajan remarked, 'You have to read between the lines'. Apparently the mental scar that Rajan suffered over the way he was treated by the government has not yet healed. However, one expected a little more finesse from Raghuram Rajan.

Narendra Modi's reaction is intriguing.  " He steered the banking system from chaos to order and ensured discipline. Under his leadership, the RBI brought financial stability."

Does the prime minister imply that Raghuram Rajan left the banking system in chaos? Was the financial system unstable under Rajan? Is Narendra Modi praising Patel or blaming Rajan?

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