Sorry, Raghuram Rajan is not interested in AAP’s Rajya Sabha seat offer
Raghuram Rajan stated that he had no plans to leave academics after the AAP expressed its interest in sending him to the Rajya Sabha.
New Delhi, Nov 9: Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan once famously said, "My name is Raghuram Rajan and I do what I do."
Even his latest book is titled, I Do What I Do. True to his words, the world-renowned economist, who is also the Katherine Dusak Miller Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in the US, does what he want to do.
So, when the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) expressed its interest to nominate the 54-year-old economist to the Rajya Sabha, the former RBI Governor politely refused the offer.
In a short statement issued on Wednesday, his office at the University of Chicago said: "While Professor Rajan is engaged in a variety of educational activities in India, he has no plans to leave his full-time academic job at the University of Chicago."
In fact, only last year he went back to academics after finishing his tenure as the RBI Governor. Although Rajan himself has admitted that he was interested in a second-term in the office, but the Narendra Modi government did not offer him the job again.
On Wednesday, reports stated that the AAP approached Rajan offering him a Rajya Sabha seat and might not nominate its own leaders to the Upper House.
An AAP leader, who did not wish to be identified, said the party will not field any of its leaders for the three Rajya Sabha seats from Delhi that will fall vacant early next year.
With
its
brute
majority
of
66
in
the
Delhi
Legislative
Assembly,
a
victory
looks
certain.
Apart
from
Rajan,
the
party
is
also
looking
for
an
eminent
jurist
and
a
known
person
from
the
field
of
social
service
for
the
other
two
seats,
the
leader
said.
"We have approached him, but he is yet to revert to us," the leader added.
Delhi sends three members to Rajya Sabha. Currently, the city-state is being represented by Janardan Dwivedi, Parvez Hashmi, Karan Singh, whose terms end in January next year.
AAP leader Ashish Khetan confirmed party convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal's choice on Twitter.
See the contrast. @narendramodi recently sent @AmitShah to Rajya Sabha. While @ArvindKejriwal wants to send Mr. Raghuram Rajan to the upper house.
— Ashish Khetan (@AashishKhetan) November 8, 2017
OneIndia News