Chidambaram questions govt after it names backer of Modi's demonetization as RBI head

New Delhi, Dec 12: Former Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday questioned the Modi government on appointment of two persons who vocally supported demonetisation to two key posts.

Chidambaram was saddened after Shaktikanta Das was appointed, but not surprised by the resignation of Urjit Patel as RBI Governor and claimed no self respecting scholar or academic can work in the NDA Government.

Taking to Twitter, Chidambaram tweeted,''Government has appointed two persons who vocally supported demonetisation to two key posts. What does it say about the Modi government?

Is government telling the people of the country 'we don't care what you think, we will do exactly as we please'?.''

Ex-finance ministry official Shaktikanta Das took charge of the Reserve Bank of India on Tuesday, in a swift appointment expected to ease a dispute with the government as it pushes for looser credit rules ahead of a general election.

Amid differences between the RBI and the government on a variety of issues, Mr Patel today resigned from his post citing personal reasons.

His resignation was being speculated right from the time the government cited a never-before-used provision of the RBI Act to get him to consider its views on relaxing lending norms for segments such as small and medium enterprises, appropriate size of reserves the central bank must maintain and easing norms for weak banks.

Patel, 55, who took over as the 24th Governor of the central bank on September 5, 2016, had the shortest tenure since 1992. He was hand-picked by the BJP-led government after his predecessor Raghuram Rajan was denied a second-term.