Raghuram Rajan's exit as RBI Governor: Subramanian Swamy is probably now the David who felled Goliath

BJP leader Subramanian Swamy probably has become the David who felled Goliath. While there have been lobbyists who did their bit to see the back of Raghuram Rajan, Swamy, who took up the case with prime minister Narendra Modi on how Rajan’s policy wrecked Indian economy, might have been the last straw.

Rexit: Raghuram Rajan's letter to RBI staff

Swamy appeared to have bitten off more than he could chew when he took on Rajan, but in the end his stance appears not too different from the government's. After writing to the PM, calling for the sacking of Rajan because he was "mentally not fully Indian" and had "wilfully" wrecked the economy, Swamy followed up with a tirade on social media. Regarding the "not fully Indian” part, Infosys CEO Vishal Sikka says: "I don't think that (Rajan's US citizenship) should be an issue. Even I'm a US citizen, phir bhi dil hai Hindustani."

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Read all about Rexit


In the letter to PM, Swamy said Rajan deliberately kept interest rates high which led "to recession in the domestic small and medium industries and thereby causing not only a sharp decline in output but also a massive unemployment of semi-skilled labour". Rajan, who took charge at the RBI in September 2013, had waged a war on inflation.

Swamy, who coined a term for Rajan as R3, said the Indian economy would be hit by $26 bn FCNR (B) redemption. "R3 planted a time bomb in our financial system in 2013. It is timed for December 2016." Rajan had announced a scheme to calm the rupee — which had touched a low — in September 2013 and will be due for redemption over the next few month.

In fact, last week, Swamy had claimed, "If India wants to see economic growth at 10%, Rajan should go back to Chicago."