No question of being FM: Jalan

Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Bimal Jalan yesterday ruled out the possibility of his becoming the next finance minister, saying he did not belong to any political party.

"There is no question of becoming finance minister since I don't belong to that party (Congress)," Jalan told a private news channel on being asked whether he could be the next finance minister.

Jalan, who was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the National Democratic Alliance government after completing his tenure as RBI governor in October last year, said he would like to make it clear that he was more like an "independent" member and was not in any party.

He said Prime Minister-designate Manmohan Singh, an economist by profession, had proved during his tenure as the finance minister that he could be successful in politics as he understood the pulse of the people, besides being an able and experienced administrator.

Asked about the economic challenges that the new Congress-led coalition government faced, Jalan said resources were scarce and poverty was widespread and "we have to make a lot of progress".

Twelfth Finance Commission Chairman C Rangarajan, who is widely believed to be a strong candidate for finance ministership, parried questions as to whether he was in the running for the post.

Rangarajan said today agriculture and small and medium enterprises held the key to economic development because of their huge potential for employment.

Giving his prescription for hastening economic growth, Rangarajan, a close associate of Manmohan Singh, said: "Development of agriculture was crucial and any impediment in its progress needed to be removed."