Rajan realised he won't get second term: Swamy

BJP MP Subramanian Swamy, who demanded the sacking of RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, today said his decision not to take a second term was good because he has realised he would not get another tenure.

"It (Rajan's decision) is good. The reasons I had given (against Rajan's continuance) were all valid. He has realised he would not get a second term. That's why he has made a statement himself," Swamy said reacting to Rajan's decision.

Earlier in the day, the newly-nominated Rajya Sabha member, who has been running a strident campaign against Rajan, had said the Reserve Bank head is a government employee and is not selected by popular vote.

"Raghuram Rajan is an employee of the Government of India. We don't select employees by popular vote," he said.

In a series of letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Swamy had demanded the sacking of Rajan, arguing that he is not "fully mentally Indian" and had been sending confidential and sensitive financial information around the world.

Rajan, in a letter to RBI employees today, said that he would go back to Chicago to continue his academic career after completion of his three-year term as central bank chief on September 4.

• Subramanian Swamy
• Raghuram Rajan
• RBI
• RBI Governor