Subramanian Swamy vs Raghuram Rajan: Here's how Firstpost saw it

One of the biggest questions surrounding Raghuram Rajan’s decision not to pursue a second term as RBI governor is: Did he jump or was he pushed? With BJP MP Subramanian Swamy gunning for him for a while, Rajan’s decision has been greeted differently by different quarters. Here’s what Firstpost made of this whole saga: Raghuram Rajan era ends; Swamy has the last laugh in this political thriller by Dinesh Unnikrishnan “Whether Rajan’s decision is the outcome of a political campaign targeting him in the last few months led by BJP MP Subramanian Swamy or purely on account of personal reasons (interest to return to academia) is a mystery that will perhaps never be solved…” Lessons from Raghuram Rajan's exit: Don't paint RBI Governor as Superman by R Jagannathan “Unlike state governors, who play a quasi-political role and usually find themselves out of a job when the Central government changes, RBI governors have so far been insulated from such abrupt ousters. But with Rajan, this changes. Future governors should take note…” **Why Rajan had to go: Can the RBI governor simultaneously be a public intellectual?** by Sreemoy Talukdar “Doesn’t a very outspoken and contrarian RBI governor — who may be wonderfully capable — undermine the very institution that he represents when makes incendiary comments such as ‘one-eyed king in the land of the blind’ or issues tacit references to Hitler while talking about ‘strong governments’, etc?” **The numbers RBI governor Raghuram Rajan did not get: 2014 and 282** by Sanjaya Baru “The problem with Raghuram Rajan is that he came to believe his intellectual and global credentials were so impressive that he would survive the regime change without ‘getting used to it’. Indeed, and on the contrary, it was for Modi, the Sangh Parivar and the Ministry of Finance to get used to him…” **As Raghuram Rajan leaves, one chapter ends and another begins: Or does it?** by Sudeepto Deb “To me, two key issues rise from this whole episode that has been a bit of a soap opera for the last few months. The quality of the debate and the manner of communication. First, the debate. It is distressing to see the fixation with personalities rather than policies…”   **Raghuram Rajan's exit isn't the big issue, his unfinished agenda certainly is** by K Yatish Rajawat “Rajan’s departure is unconventional as the man — this is the same person who criticised Manmohan Singh and his government for its failure to reform the system. A few weeks before he was appointed governor, Rajan as a speaker to celebrate 20 years of reforms, spoke disparagingly about the government’s efforts.” **Raghuram Rajan's impending US return is the biggest irony of our times** by Ajaz Ashraf “Rajan’s exit from the RBI, and India, is voluntary only in form. He has been hounded into returning to academia in the US. To NRIs, his experience sends an ominous message — you can return to India only at your own peril. Obviously, many of us will say who wants these NRIs to return, overbearing as they are, having a sense of entitlement…” **Raghuram Rajan exit: RBI governor used as political ploy against Modi govt** by Prakash Nanda “The likes of Subramanian Swamy argue that Rajan has ‘killed’ the small and medium enterprises. However, my RBI friends say that in this ‘battle against the RBI Governor’, he has been fully supported by the Modi government, or at least by those who ultimately matter in this government.” **Worst fears realised? Raghuram Rajan's exit means rupee volatility will grow** by Ritika Mankar “Our worst fears came true when Raghuram Rajan, over the weekend, announced that he will not serve a second term as the governor of the RBI. In light of this development, we highlight that volatility in the rupee is likely to increase owing to the heightened probability of RBI’s independence being institutionally compromised…” Raghuram Rajan’s exit was ugly, but India’s economy is not a one-man show by Shankkar Aiyar “Someday someone somewhere in or out of government will put together a manual on “How Not to Do Things”. And the exit of Raghuram Rajan from RBI, will find a place in it. Sure there were differences (and) the cause list though doesn’t mitigate the consequence, but it doesn’t take away from the fact the orchestration of R3XIT was ugly and avoidable.” Raghuram Rajan's RBI exit and return to academia is better for the world by Ashok V Desai “It cannot be said that the resignation of Raghuram Rajan was separation by mutual consent. He had implicitly indicated his willingness to serve another term; his change of mind indicates either that he was given the boot, that he got fed up with the government’s indecision…”