It was clear to Parliamentary panel that Urjit Patel was under lot of stress and pressure, says former Union minister Veerappa Moily on RBI Governor’s resignation.
New Delhi: Former Union law minister and chairman of the parliamentary standing committee on finance M. Veerappa Moily Monday said that when Urjit Patel, who resigned today as RBI governor, appeared before the House panel on 27 November, he seemed under “a lot of stress”.
“When he came before the standing committee, we saw that he was under a lot of stress… We could feel the pressure that was on him. The government did not allow the RBI governor to function with independence. They wanted to cut all his powers and give those to a committee. This has never been done in the history of the RBI,” he told ThePrint.
Moily alleged that the Narendra Modi government wanted the RBI to function as “just another department of the RBI”.
“This is something that can’t be allowed. But they don’t want any independent institution. He (Patel) was only waiting before he sent his resignation. No gentleman, no RBI governor who is an economist with some stature, no economist worth his name can function under this government. This is so very clear from this resignation,” he added.
“This government does not respect talent… Circumstances were created that led to what has happened today…” said Moily.
Also read: This ‘truce’ is actually a defeat for the Reserve Bank of India
‘Govt has demolished RBI’
The former UPA minister said that even former chief economist adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian has come out and talked of “how this government is implementing draconian economic policies which are destroying the country”.
“Democratic institutions are being demolished by the government. No democratic country can function properly if the time-tested institutions are not allowed their independence. This government doesn’t understand that,” said Moily.
“They have demolished the RBI, they are demolishing the UGC, they have already demolished the Planning Commission. So much so that even (with) the Supreme Court, they made a big attempt to curb the independence of the judiciary. We saw four senior judges come out and declare that in public. And now this. It is clear what is happening,” he said.
Also read: Urjit Patel is rigid & uncommunicative but India can’t afford his resignation