Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Facing continuous attack from BJP MP Subramanian Swamy and other sections, questions have been raised as to whether Raghuram Rajan would be considered for a second term as RBI Governor when his tenure ends in September.
For the second time in a forthnight the BJP MP wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi asking him to immediately sack the RBI Governor.
In the letter, Swamy reportedly levelled six allegations against Rajan including sending confidential and sensitive financial information around the world and harming the Indian economy.
In the first letter, he alleged that Rajan was mentally half Indian.
And while Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has defended the 'personal' attack on Rajan on both ocassions, his opinion on term extension of the RBI governor is different.
When questioned about it, Jaitley declined to comment on Rajan's term extension as RBI Governor.
Asked if Government will consider a second term to Rajan, he said, "These are not the subjects, I discuss with media."
If denied an extension, he will be the first RBI Governor since 1992 to not have a five-year term.
His predecessors -- D Subbarao (2008-2013), Y V Reddy (2003-2008), Bimal Jalan (1997-2003) and C Rangarajan (1992-1997) -- had five-year terms.
PM Modi, in his first comments in the wake of continuing attack on the top economist in recent months, said the issue of reappointment of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan was an administrative subject and it should not be an issue of interest of the media.
"I don't think this administrative subject should be an issue of interest to the media," Modi said.
Rajan's term as RBI Governor ends in September.
