No differences with Rajan: Chakrabarty

Dr. Rajan in a press release thanked Dr. Chakrabarty for services rendered to the RBI, and said search was on to find his sucessor.

Asserting that there were no differences with RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, Deputy Governor K. C. Chakrabarty, on Friday, said his resignation was a personal decision.

Dr. Chakrabarty, the senior most Deputy Governor of the RBI, requested to be relieved on April 25, slightly earlier than his scheduled term end on June 30.

Dr. Rajan in a press release thanked Dr. Chakrabarty for services rendered to the RBI, and said search was on to find his sucessor.

Freedom to decide “I think I should have the discretion of deciding my own retirement date. Absolutely there is no problem. This is communicated to the Governor well in advance. It is my personal decision,” Dr. Chakrabarty told reporters here.

On whether there was any difference with Dr. Rajan over policy matters, Dr. Chakrabarty said: “There is no such problem... I am taking early relieve. I am not running away.”

“His experience as a banker has given him the ability to diagnose weaknesses in the system, and made him a forceful advocate for change. I personally have benefited enormously from his advice,” Dr. Rajan said in the statement. The RBI said a search is on for his successor.

Of the four deputy governors, two are from within the organisation, one economist and one banker.

As regards future plans, Dr. Chakrabarty said he would think about it after April 25. “At present there is no plan.”

When asked if he was going to meet Finance Minister P Chidambaram, he said that he reported to the RBI Governor, and had conveyed to him the decision to leave the RBI. “I think he (Dr. Rajan) must have done that thing (to the Finance Minister),” he said.