In no speech have I criticised Govt ... explicitly or implicitly: Raghuram

Outgoing RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday strongly defended his controversial public speeches as “perfectly legitimate” ones within the remit of a central bank head and asserted that he was never critical of the government in any instance. “These are perfectly legitimate speeches. You can interpret them any which ways you want,” Rajan said at an interaction with select news agencies here this evening. 

“In none of those speeches that I have made has there been an explicit criticism or an implicit criticism of the government. There are people who read the interpretation of what is the speech I have given,” he added. After his decision to return back to academia, there have been voices suggesting that his candid public speeches were one of the aspects which made the government uncomfortable about reappointing Rajan for another term. The academic-turned-central banker spoke a lot across the country and abroad in the three years at helm, and had a special liking for educational institutes.

Some of the controversial speeches made by him include the one where he quoted American political philosopher Francis Fukuyama to question whether strong governments can really help a country or in defence of tolerance in the middle of a debate started by the killing of a Muslim man over suspicion of storing beef. 

‘I Do not want to leave any legacy issues to next RBI Guv’

Outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said he would like to leave a clean slate for his successor at the Reserve Bank so that the person does not have to deal with any legacy issues on taking charge. On his return to the academic world when his term comes to a close on September 4, he wants to focus back on research and understanding a world which has changed considerably in the last four years, Rajan said, dismissing notions of joining politics. “The hope is to leave no legacy issues for the next Governor so that they start with (a clean state) broadly...all problems are dealt with,” Rajan said in a post-policy interaction here.