‘Rajan’s choice of words could have been better’

April 19, 2016 11:48 pm | Updated October 18, 2016 02:45 pm IST - NEW DELHI:

Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday said RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan should have a better choice of words while assessing the Indian economy vis-à-vis the gloomy global outlook.

Mr. Rajan had, in an interview, said India’s position as a “bright spot” in an otherwise dismal economic scenario the world over was akin to a “one-eyed man being King in the land of the blind.”

Speaking to The Hindu , Ms. Sitharaman said “his choice of words, the metaphors that have been used, are unnecessarily giving a handle to people like Mani Shankar Aiyar to give quirky interpretations like ‘who is this one-eyed king that Raghuram Rajan is referring to?’ I would like people like Raghuram Rajan, who know the truths behind the economy and the dynamics of the economy, to be able to speak with better choice of words.”

As the NDA government heads to its second anniversary, she said work was being done, but it seemed that some numbers dominated over the others. “What dominates the mind of everyone is the export numbers, that these are falling for the 15 or 16 month. How about manufacturing and production numbers? They have been encouraging. I find the propaganda sometimes informed and 99% of the time uninformed, which is why we have been holding stakeholder meetings.”

The Minister said the failure of the government to ink various Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) were due to “critical issues on the both sides of the negotiating table” which, “despite political will, can only go so far and no further.”

“After the EU summit I wrote to my counterpart to set dates for negotiations. There are critical issues on both sides, on which, even with political will you can only go so far and no further. Therefore, it is on those issues, where I cannot be more flexible than I am now,” Ms. Sitharaman said. At a recent meeting organised by the Research and Information Systems for Developing Countries (RIS), progress on FTAs and plurilateral agreements had been discussed with stakeholders.

“We said that if say, the progress on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership [RCEP] FTA is not fast, it is also due to the offer list that we provided cannot be more ambitious than it is. We have to look after the interests of our farmers, artisans and craftsmen,” she said. Ms. Sitharaman also spoke about the event in JNU, her alma mater, in February. She defended the government’s handling of the situation, and instead urged the JNU Students Union “to honestly introspect on events.”

“Do you not understand the seriousness of what you are doing, what that day in February meant? In this country, where sometimes we feel justice is critically delayed, due process was followed, through layers of court and clemency process. You are marking the memory of someone who was part of the attack on our Parliament. Could the JNUSU have handled it better?” she said.

“You may criticise Indira Gandhi, or even the present Prime Minister, but to talk against the integrity of the country? Criticise the government, we will invite you for a dialogue, but please do not side with those who are against the country, were responsible for the attack on Parliament. That is not the JNUSU I want to remember, the JNUSU walked into a terrain that was populated by people who they as student leaders should not have associated with,” she said.

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