Jaitley disapproves of personal attacks on RBI governor

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday said he disapproved of personal attacks on Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan by BJP's nominated Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy.

"I do not approve of any personal comments on anyone, let alone the RBI (Reserve Bank of India) governor. The RBI is an important institution; it makes its judgement. One can agree or disagree with their judgement, but that is matter of debate," Jaitley told NDTV.

Firing another salvo, Swamy, in another letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, raised six objections against Rajan and his conduct as a "government official".

Swamy accused Rajan of raising interest rates which, according to him, led to recession; sending "confidential and sensitive" financial information to various persons around the world; and being "publicly disparaging of the BJP government", among other things.

The other objections raised by Swamy are over Rajan holding a US green card despite holding a sensitive and very high government of India post; his insistence on setting up shariah-compliant financial institutions; and Rajan being a member of the "US-dominated" Group of 30.

After his nomination to the Rajya Sabha last month, Swamy has demanded Rajan's immediate removal from the post.

--IANS

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