FM Nirmala Sitharaman Says Raghuram Rajan Failed To Protect Banks As RBI Chief

It’s the biggest counter-attack yet by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman against former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan. In an exclusive conversation with Rahul Kanwal, Executive Director, Business Today and Siddharth Zarabi, Managing Editor, Business Today TV after presenting her interim Budget for 2024, the Finance Minister said that as Governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), Rajan failed to fulfil his duties as the banking regulator. “Banks were in torment as the regulator looked the other way and phone calls were going to banks”, said the Finance Minister. She added that Raghuram Rajan should’ve pointed out the rules to banks and protected them from external pressure. According to Nirmala Sitharaman, Rajan should first clarify whether he has put on the cap of an economist or a politician each time he speaks.