Mumbai: The state elections delayed the resignation of RBI governor Urjit Patel.
“Patel wanted to resign on December 7. He, however, was requested by the government to make it on December 10,” said an aide of the outgoing governor.
Soon after the most controversial Board meeting of RBI came to an end on November 19, Patel conveyed his intend to quit the governorship of the country’s federal bank to the finance minister Arun Jaitley. He expressed his desire to resign on December 7, the day before the RBI closes for the weekends.
Realizing that Patel’s resignation on the poll date will have adverse impact on the voters in the poll bound states, the finance minister requested him to postpone his resignation till the elections are over.
Rajasthan and Telengana were the two of the five states where the polling was scheduled on December 7.
The November 19 Board meeting, in fact, undermined much of the autonomy of the RBI. The Board decided that the Centre and the RBI will form a joint committee to decide on the terms of surplus transfer to the government.
Urjit Patel was, in fact, targeted by the government for his uprightness. His deposition before the Parliamentary committee caused lot of embarrassment to the government that was unwilling to take the blame for the demonetisation decision.
