Urjit Patel’s resignation is sign of protest: Rajan

Ex- RBI governor Raghuram Rajan on Monday said that resignation of Mr Patel as RBI governor should be seen as a statement of protest.

“The act of resignation by a government servant or regulator is a note of protest. It is saying that the person can not stay on, given the kind of policies that are being thrust upon him,” said Rajan.

He said that resignation is the only act that they have in their reservoir when faced with circumstances they cant deal with. “So in that sense it should be seen as a statement of protest and given that Dr Patel is an honourable civil servant and a regulator I think we need to understand what prompted this act and I don’t think Dr Patel is given to act lightly,” said Dr Rajan. He said that the government should take due note of it.

Dr Rajan said that “all Indians” should be concerned as strength of institutions is important for growth and development. “We should” go into the details as to why there was impasse, which forced this ultimate decision,” he noted.

“I think, this is something that all Indians should be concerned about because strength of our institutions is really important for our growth, sustainable growth and equity in the economy,” said Dr Rajan.

With regard to powers of the RBI Board, Dr Rajan said there is “an extreme” change in the nature of the governance of the RBI for the “board to become an operational board, that is to make operational decisions.”