Mumbai: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) governor Urjit Patel on Monday resigned from the post citing personal reasons. “On account of personal reasons, I have decided to step down from my current position effective immediately. It has been my privilege and honour to serve in the Reserve Bank of India in various capacities over the years,” he said in a brief statement. RBI deputy governor N.S. Vishwanathan is likely to hold charge as RBI interim head, news agency Cogencis has said.
Urjit Patel’s resignation is effective immediately. Finance minister Arun Jaitley will soon react to his resignation, he tweeted
The Government acknowledges with deep sense of appreciation the services rendered by Dr. Urjit Patel to this country both in his capacity as the Governor and the Deputy Governor of The RBI. It was a pleasure for me to deal with him and benefit from his scholarship. (1/2)
— Arun Jaitley (@arunjaitley) December 10, 2018
Patel took charge as the RBI governor on 4 September 2016 after Raghuram Rajan resigned from the post on 19 June of that year. Patel’s term as RBI governor was to end in September 2019.
The RBI and government have been fighting for weeks over RBI autonomy as the Centre seeks to reduce curbs on lending and to gain access to RBI reserves. The friction came to light when Patel’s deputy, RBI deputy governor Viral Acharya, warned that compromising with central bank’s independence could be “catastrophic”.
PM Narendra Modi also tweeted,
Dr. Urjit Patel is a thorough professional with impeccable integrity. He has been in the Reserve Bank of India for about 6 years as Deputy Governor and Governor. He leaves behind a great legacy. We will miss him immensely.
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) December 10, 2018
Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan reacted to his successor’s resignation by saying that it was something that “all Indians” should be concerned about. “All Indians should be concerned about Governor Patel’s resignation,” Rajan, who went back to the US after completing his tenure as RBI boss, was quoted as saying by news agency Reuters.
Congress chief Rahul Gandhi said that Urjit Patel had resigned to “protect the institution of RBI”.
“Taking away reserves from RBI to save your skin is an act against this nation,” Gandhi said, referring to one of the issues that has caused a rift between the RBI and the government — the Centre’s demand that the central bank hand over some of its surplus money to the government.
Fellow Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Ahmed Patel reacted to Urjit Patel’s resignation, saying, “The manner in which the RBI governor has been forced to quit is a blot on India’s monetary and banking system.”