PM Modi ticks off Subramanian Swamy over Raghuram Rajan remarks

PM Modi ticks off Subramanian Swamy over Raghuram Rajan remarks

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today disapproved of party MP Subramanian Swamy's attacks on RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan and some top finance ministry officials saying they are "inappropriate".

Calling Rajan "no less patriotic", he virtually ticked off Swamy saying "if anybody considers himself above the system then it is wrong".

The Prime Minister's comments assume significance in the context of Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and the BJP distancing themselves from Swamy's recent attacks on Rajan, CEAArvind Subramananian and Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das.

Swamy also had made some carping comments about Jaitley without taking his name.

"Whether it is in my party or not, still I think such things are inappropriate. This fondness for publicity is never going to do any good to the nation. People should conduct themselves with utmost responsibility. If anybody considers himself above the system, it is wrong," the Prime Minister told Times Now channel in an interview.

Without taking the name of Swamy, Modi was asked about the comments of "your Rajya Sabha MP" in the context of Raghuram Rajan and queried whether it was appropriate.

Even after that there have been criticisms made against very senior government officials, the questioner said recalling Modi's recent counsel to party leaders in Allahabad to maintain balance and restraint in their speech and conduct.

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Subramanian Swamy fires fresh salvo, targets CEA Arvind Subramanian

Subramanian Swamy fires fresh salvo, targets CEA Arvind Subramanian

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday said that he wants Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian to be sacked, alleging the CEA had badmouthed India in the international arena and had also encouraged the Congressto adopt a rigid position on the GST Bill.

Earlier in the day, Swamy had launched a Twitter attack on Subramanian after some reports over the past few days suggested the CEA could be a probable successor to Rajan. He also directly called for the sacking of the CEA.
Swamy raised charges similar to those he had used against outgoing RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, saying that the CEA was a 'green card holder' and was probably not an Indian citizen. Incidently, both Rajan and Arvind Subramanian have worked at the IMF.

"He used to work in America and he is also a green card holder type. I don't even know if he is a citizen or not but I'm sure he has a green card. There was this American Congress Committee for pharmaceutical purposes and they held a hearing to figure out India's opinion on the matter. There he said in a statement that India was not working according to America in this matter and for that, they should be taught a lesson in WTO. How can we can such a person an advisor here?," Swamy said.

He added that when Arvind was appointed by the Indian government, he gave a note to the Finance Ministry asserting that the clauses demanded by the Congress in the GST Bill were absolutely justified. Read More.

Latest developments in India's NSG bid

Latest developments in India's NSG bid

The admission of India into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is taking new turns every day. China has now lowered its stance against India's membership by saying that NSG is open to discussing the entry of the countries who have not signed the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The 48- member club manages the flow of nuclear technology all over the world, with an aim to ensure the non proliferation of nuclear weapons and technologies. India has been vying hard for years to be part of this group as it would help the nation gain access to a plethora of new technologies, reduced depence on conventional sources of energy, among others.

This year with firm support from nations like United States, United Kingdom, Russia, India has a bright chance of getting into NSG. But, Pakistan with the backing of China is hell-bent on blocking this with the argument that the admission of a non-NPT signatory into the group is discriminatory. It says that all the nations who have not signed this treaty should be considered for the entry into the group.

China firmly supports this stand of Pakistan and says that they are not against India's admission to NSG but then Pakistan's membership should also be discussed. Earlier, the Chinese foreign ministry said the issue of India's membership to the 48-member group wasn't even on the agenda of the NSG's plenary meeting in Seoul. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying Beijing said: "We understand that non-NPT countries are concerned about their entry into the NSG. But since NSG is still divided about the issue, so it is still not mature to talk about the entry issue in the annual conference in Seoul."Read more.

Latest developments in India's NSG bid

Latest developments in India's NSG bid

The admission of India into the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) is taking new turns every day. China has now lowered its stance against India's membership by saying that NSG is open to discussing the entry of the countries who have not signed the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The 48- member club manages the flow of nuclear technology all over the world, with an aim to ensure the non proliferation of nuclear weapons and technologies. India has been vying hard for years to be part of this group as it would help the nation gain access to a plethora of new technologies, reduced depence on conventional sources of energy, among others.

This year with firm support from nations like United States, United Kingdom, Russia, India has a bright chance of getting into NSG. But, Pakistan with the backing of China is hell-bent on blocking this with the argument that the admission of a non-NPT signatory into the group is discriminatory. It says that all the nations who have not signed this treaty should be considered for the entry into the group.

China firmly supports this stand of Pakistan and says that they are not against India's admission to NSG but then Pakistan's membership should also be discussed. Earlier, the Chinese foreign ministry said the issue of India's membership to the 48-member group wasn't even on the agenda of the NSG's plenary meeting in Seoul. On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying Beijing said: "We understand that non-NPT countries are concerned about their entry into the NSG. But since NSG is still divided about the issue, so it is still not mature to talk about the entry issue in the annual conference in Seoul."Read more.

Rajan's exit another sign of PM's unwillingness to change things: Jim Rogers

Rajan's exit another sign of PM's unwillingness to change things: Jim Rogers

The markets regained lost ground on Monday after a knee-jerk reaction to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan’s decision over the weekend to quit after his term ends. Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings and author of Street Smarts: Adventures on the Road andin the Markets, tells Puneet Wadhwa that Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows what needs to be done in India, but is reluctant to do it. The markets, he says, may react negatively in the short run, but will go up once the new governor takes charge and prints more money. Edited excerpts:

What is your interpretation of the sudden exit by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor?

This is more of the same from Mr Narendra Modi. He always talks of making changes in India, but he doesn't. He has got his own people and he is also putting more of his people in power. He does not like Raghuram Rajan , who recently quit as the central bank head because he was cleaning up the banks and was against crony capitalism. So, Mr Modi knows what needs to be done in India, but is reluctant to do it. Mr Modi ran his election campaign on the platform that he is going to change and save India. Unfortunately, he hasn't done much of that till now. This (Raghuram Rajan's exit) is just another sign of unwillingness of Mr Modi to change things.Read more.

Why PM Modi should ignore Subramanian Swamy's letter to sack Raghuram Rajan

Subramanian Swamy, BJP’s newly nominated member to the Rajya Sabha, recently said that Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan should be removed from his post.

In a fresh salvo at Rajan, Swamy has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking immediate sacking of the former IMF Chief Economist while alleging he was "mentally not fully Indian" and has "willfully" wrecked the economy.

Following up his barb against Rajan at the end of Parliament session last week, Swamy yesterday wrote to Prime Minister seeking termination of Rajan's services with immediate effect.

According to Swamy, Rajan has hiked interest rates "in the garb of controlling interest inflation", which has "damaged the country", and that he was responsible for “unemployment and collapse of industrial activity".Read more.