 "Arvind Subramanian")
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy on Wednesday said that he wants Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian to be sacked, alleging the CEA had badmouthed India in the international arena and had also encouraged the Congress to adopt a rigid position on the GST Bill.
Earlier in the day, Swamy had launched a Twitter attack on Subramanian after some reports over the past few days suggested the CEA could be a probable successor to Rajan. He also directly called for the sacking of the CEA.
Swamy raised charges similar to those he had used against outgoing RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, saying that the CEA was a 'green card holder' and was probably not an Indian citizen. Incidently, both Rajan and Arvind Subramanian have worked at the IMF.
Swamy raised charges similar to those he had used against outgoing RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, saying that the CEA was a 'green card holder' and was probably not an Indian citizen. Incidently, both Rajan and Arvind Subramanian have worked at the IMF.
"He used to work in America and he is also a green card holder type. I don't even know if he is a citizen or not but I'm sure he has a green card. There was this American Congress Committee for pharmaceutical purposes and they held a hearing to figure out India's opinion on the matter. There he said in a statement that India was not working according to America in this matter and for that, they should be taught a lesson in WTO. How can we can such a person an advisor here?," Swamy said.
He added that when Arvind was appointed by the Indian government, he gave a note to the Finance Ministry asserting that the clauses demanded by the Congress in the GST Bill were absolutely justified.
"I think that such people who can fail our government should be tossed out. Now, it's been two years and I think it's about time," he added.
"Who said to US Cong on 13/3/13 the US should act against India to defend US Pharmaceuticals interests? Arvind Subramanian MoF !! Sack him!!! Guess who encouraged Congi to become rigid on GST clauses ? Jaitley's economic adviser Arvind Subramanian of Washington DC," he tweeted.
He also said, "Now PTs (Patriotic Tweeples) can understand why our core economic sectors could not perform last two years. Trojan horses galore in MoF/Fin Institutions."
"Was AS (Arvind Subramanian) deposing before US Cong Committee against India as a US citizen or Indian? Does any PT know?," he asked.
The attack on Subramanian comes days after Swamy - who has also said he has a list of 27 people who he would fix' soon - announced that his next 'project' is to expose a group of bureaucrats loyal to Congress party president Sonia Gandhi.
"My next project is to expose 27 bureaucrats who are in various Ministries and loyal to TDK. They were handpicked and positioned by PC," Swamy said in a tweet, using the initials for P Chidambaram, who was finance minister in the UPA government. While Rajan was a UPA appointee, Arvind Subramanian was appointed by the Modi government.
Reacting to the attack on the CEA, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh said Swamy's target was not Arvind Subramanian but Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and asked whether PM Narendra Modi was handing over the finance ministry to Swamy.
"Subramanian Swamy now guns for Arvind Subramanian Economic Advisor to NDA. Target is Arun Jaitley not Arvind Subramanian. Is Modi handing over Finance Ministry to Subramanian Swamy? He has been claiming that PM has assured him as quid pro quo if he targeted Nehru Gandhi Family," Singh said in a series of tweets.
Earlier, Swamy had welcomed Rajan's decision to leave his post as RBI Governor on the completion of his three-year term, saying that he had taken such a step in order to save his 'self respect'. Swamy had written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi in May asking for Rajan's dismissal.
