Days before leaving RBI, outgoing Governor Raghuram Rajan on Thursday said he was willing to stay a bit longer but could not reach the “right kind of agreement” with the Government on extension of his tenure.
“Because of ... Unfinished task, I was willing perhaps to stay provided we could reach the right kind of agreement, we didn’t. That’s where it ended”, said Rajan, whose outspoken views on various issues were often seen as being against the views of the Government on economic and even non-economic matters. His three-year term comes would end on September 4.
In an interview to noted journalist Karan Thapar on India Today channel, Rajan defended his controversial speech on perceived growing intolerance in the country, which had riled the Government.
Rejecting criticism of having spoken ‘out of turn’ on various occasions, Rajan said it was “legitimate duty” and “moral responsibility” of public figures to tell young minds what good citizenship is about.