New Delhi: Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Raghuram Rajan briefly joined the Bharat Jodo Yatra by walking alongside Congress leader Rahul Gandhi Wednesday, as the march passed through Sawai Madhopur city in Rajasthan.
The Congress tweeted a photo of Rajan with Gandhi, who is leading the journey, with the message, “The number of people standing up against hate, to unite the country, says that we will succeed.”
Rajan had served as the RBI governor from 2013 to 2016. He is also Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. His distinguished career also includes his stint as the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund from 2003 to 2006.
#BharatJodoYatra में @RahulGandhi जी के साथ कदम मिलाते RBI के पूर्व गवर्नर श्री रघुराम राजन…
नफ़रत के खिलाफ देश जोड़ने के लिए खड़े होने वालों की बढ़ती संख्या बताती है कि- हम होंगे कामयाब। pic.twitter.com/MFV6izCpcw
— Congress (@INCIndia) December 14, 2022
During his tenure as the RBI governor, Rajan had been critical of the financial measures taken by the Narendra Modi government, including demonetisation.
However, earlier this year, speaking at an event in Raipur, the former RBI governor had said that India has sufficient foreign exchange reserves and would not land in an economic mess like neighbours Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The BJP quickly retorted to Rajan joining the march, saying that he “fancies himself as the next Manmohan Singh.”
“Raghuram Rajan, former RBI Governor, a Congress appointee, joining Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is not a surprise. He fancies himself as the next Manmohan Singh. Just that his commentary on India’s economy should be discarded with disdain. It is coloured and opportunistic…,” tweeted Amit Malviya, in-charge of BJP’s IT cell.
Also read: ‘Grievous blow to free speech’ — Raghuram Rajan on Pratap Mehta’s exit from Ashoka University