Before meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Raghuram Rajan also met finance minister Arun Jaitley. (PTI Photo)
Highlights
- Raghuram Rajan's term as RBI Governor Ends in September
- Mr Rajan has faced attacks by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy
- Earlier on Wednesday, Mr Rajan had met Union Minister Arun Jaitley
Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan met Prime Minister Narendra Modi this evening, said sources. It was not immediately known what they had discussed during the one-on-one meeting.
Mr Rajan's term as the RBI Governor ends in September.
Earlier today, Mr Rajan had met finance minister Arun Jaitley. Mr Rajan had declined to comment on the meeting, which is believed to have been on the macro-economic situation ahead of next month's monetary policy. The announcement is scheduled for June 7 and will be made amid clamour for further rate cuts by RBI.
Mr Rajan had recently faced repeated attacks by BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who accused the RBI Governor of wilfully wrecking the economy and alleging that he is "not fully Indian" since he has been renewing his US Green Card.
Mr Swamy had also written to the Prime Minister earlier this month, recommending that he "consider terminating the appointment".
But a groundswell of support is growing for Mr Rajan.
An online petition on
Change.org urging PM Modi to grant him a second term needs a little over 6,000 more signatures to reach the figure of 50,000.
Referring to Dr Swamy's attacks, the petitioner, Rajesh Palaria, has made a made a strong pitch for Mr Rajan's reappointment, saying, "He has been doing a great job by balancing and maneuvering Indian economy through the populism which endangers it... He is very crucial for the India Growth Story."
The BJP has not officially made its position clear following Mr Swamy's comments.
But BJP spokesperson Gopal Aggarwal had earlier questioned how effective RBI's moves had been.
An Amul butter ad calling for a "second helping" was also the rage on Facebook and Twitter.