I am a Karmayogi, says Rajan amid extension rumours

In his first sit-down interview since he kept interest rates unchanged on Tuesday, Rajan told NDTV that his mother-in-law has advised him to be a karmayogi, "My mother-in-law always says, Be a karmayogi. My work shows my love for my country. certain allegations are so fundamentally wrong and baseless that to address them is to give them a legitimacy that they don't deserve".

"A lot of people these days are writing my obituary in the papers. It gives me time to reflect on what remains to be done,"

This comes at a time when speculation is rife about Rajan's reappointment. Media reports now suggest that after much ado, the NDA might have given him an extension, despite senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy demanding that Rajan be sacked as he is 'mentally not fully Indian and deliberately wrecking the Indian economy.'

 The issue of his tenure extension has garnered intense scrutiny, with senior politicians taking open sides and vociferously criticising the NDA on its shoddy handling of the sensitive and important matter. Finance minister Arun Jaitley had to step in and say that he does not 'approve' of personal attacks and that the 'finance ministry shares a warm relationship with the RBI.  

Many captains of the industry have also openly and vocally supported Rajan while the online world has been abuzz with opinions on the issue as 60,000 people signed an online petition supporting his reappointment.  

In the interview, Rajan also said that he welcomes genuine criticism of RBI policy but will not address ad hominem attacks. "I won't comment on a second term. But you've seen my speeches. My ultimate home is in the realm of ideas," he added.

Meanwhile in a separate but related development, responding to an RTI query, the RBI has revealed that the present citizenship of the Governor is Indian, and that it has no knowledge about his earlier citizenship.

Dispelling any doubts about the citizenship of its governor Raghuram Rajan, the Reserve bank of India (RBI) has said that he is an Indian passport holder and Indian national.

Responding three years after the filing of a petition under the Right to Information Act — on the basis of a news-report dated August 12, 2013 raising doubts about his citizenship — the RBI has revealed that present citizenship of the Governor is Indian, and that it has no knowledge about his earlier citizenship.

Releasing detailed information about his RTI petition, Delhi-based RTI activist Subhash Chandra Agarwal on Wednesday said that it was transferred amongst several public-authorities and finally reached RBI on May 11 this year.