RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan ended months of feverish speculation by announcing that he wouldn’t be seeking a second term in office. In typical Rajan style, the announcement was low-key and formal – instead of announcing his departure in a packed press conference, Rajan chose to write a letter to his colleagues at RBI. And the public reaction was immediate – while many bemoaned the loss of one of India’s brightest minds from its shores, a small minority didn’t seem all that displeased at his departure.
Many implied that his exit was politically motivated.
The 'Rexit" of Rajan proves just one thing- no intellectually independent Indian who has mind of his/her own has space. World stage better.
— barkha dutt (@BDUTT) June 18, 2016
We live in a time when Gajendra Chauhan despite protests stays at FTII and Raghuram Rajan despite being one of d finest forced to leave RBI
— Rana Ayyub (@RanaAyyub) June 18, 2016
Swamy: Sack Raghuram
Modi: Blah
BJP supporters: Sack Raghuram
Modi: Blah
Barkha: I've Raghuram in a exclusive with me
Modi: Sacked— ADI (@reviewero) June 19, 2016
And the opposition didn’t miss their chance to, well, oppose.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi knows everything. He has no need for experts like Raghuram Rajan
— Office of RG (@OfficeOfRG) June 18, 2016
Rajan's decision to leave RBI proves that Modi govt has no respect for talent. It only likes likes of Gajendra, Nihlani, Chetan etc.
— ashutosh (@ashutosh83B) June 18, 2016
While others felt it didn’t matter either way.
I'm a fan of Raghuram Rajan,but the role of an RBI governor in overall economy is like that of agriculture minister in bringing good monsoon
— Ra_Bies (@Ra_Bies) June 19, 2016
And Twitter being Twitter, some saw the funny side of it.
Raghuram Rajan achieved a lot in life coz he doesn't have a twitter account.
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) June 18, 2016
Am perfectly okay with Dhoni becoming the next RBI governor.
At least in cricket, he has been cutting down my interest rate.— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) June 18, 2016
Raghuram Rajan becomes one of the few IIM-A graduates who did not quit his plush job to start his own e-commerce venture. Respect.
— Trendulkar (@Trendulkar) June 18, 2016