BJP-led Centre thinks it owns RBI: Chidambaram

Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram Thursday alleged the BJP-led Centre thinks that it "owns" the Reserve Bank of India and does not understand the independence of the central bank, while asserting that the Union government is only after "hoard of cash" and "pot of gold".

Addressing the Lokmat National Conclave, he hit out at the Union government over the appointment of Shaktikanta Das as the RBI governor, saying it "worries" him that an official who was a "vocal supporter" of demonetisation has been given the key post at the country's central bank.

He also hoped that Das stands up to the autonomy and rights of the RBI.

"Anyone who vocally supported demonetisation was wrong. It does not mean that if you are wrong on one issue, you cannot be right on other issues. But you must have the humility and honesty to accept that you made a mistake. Whether Shaktikanta Das has the freedom to acknowledge that demonetisation was a mistake, I doubt that.

"It worries me that they have appointed two persons to two key posts, both of who were vocal supporters of demonetisation," he said when asked about his views on the appointment of Das as the RBI governor.

Shaktikanta Das took charge as the 25th Governor of the Reserve Bank early Wednesday and promised to take all stakeholders, including the government, along on key policy issues to maintain growth while keeping inflation under check.

Das was appointed to the post Tuesday evening -- within a day after the sudden resignation of Urjit Patel following deep friction between the RBI and the government over a host of issues, including the central bank's governance, capital reserves and also certain regulatory policies like the PCA framework for half the state-run banks and credit concerns to some key vote-banks in the industry.

"I sincerely hope and appeal to Shaktikanta Das. You are now the RBI governor and no longer ex-secretary of economic affairs, ex-member finance commission. You are the governor of India's central bank, and therefore you must stand up for the central bank's autonomy and rights," Chidambaram said.

Asked whether Urjit Patel meekly accepted demonetisation, the senior Congress leader said, "He should not have called a board meeting in Delhi.. and passed a resolution endorsing demonetisation. He should have stood his ground. He was wrong. He suffered a huge reputational slide by endorsing demonetisation."