A fraught relationship

It is a peculiar older brother, younger brother relationship in which a soft word from the older brother is all that is needed to persuade the latter

Here’s something that the Congress party’s spokespersons should be mindful of: there has not been a single governor of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) — with the exception perhaps of K R Puri during the Emergency — with whom the government has not had differences of opinion. Given that the party was in power for 60 of the 71 years since 1947, it should not claim any special virtue in dealing with the RBI.

Another thing they should keep in mind is that a government doesn’t actually have to use an enabling provision in the law to have its way.