Bringing their differences into the open, outgoing Reserve Bank Governor D. Subbarao, on Thursday, took a dig at Finance Minister P. Chidambaram for his comment once that he would ‘walk alone’ to ensure growth in the face of tight money policy of the central bank.
A week before he demits office, Dr. Subbarao referred to media coverage on policy differences between the government and the RBI and the issue of autonomy and accountability.
“Gerard Schroeder, the former German Chancellor, once said, ‘I am often frustrated by the Bundesbank. But thank God, it exists.’
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“I do hope Finance Minister Chidambaram will one day say, ‘I am often frustrated by the Reserve Bank, so frustrated that I want to go for a walk, even if I have to walk alone. But thank God, the Reserve Bank exists,’” Dr. Subbarao said in his last public lecture as RBI Governor.
He was obviously referring to a statement of Mr. Chidambaram in October last year that “if the government has to walk alone to face the challenge of growth then, ‘we will walk alone’”