HYDERABAD: MP Subramanian Swamy on Saturday claimed he knew why former RBI Governor Urjit Patel stepped down. “He was asked to do something wrong, so he quit,” the BJP leader said, before adding that his replacement Shaktikanta Das was “highly corrupt”, during an interactive session moderated by senior journalist Bhupendra Chaubey at Indian School of Business here.
The nonconformist leader said he wanted Das to be removed from the post of RBI Governor and, without missing a beat, added that he’d rather the finance minister himself was removed. Swamy proposed that R Vaidyanathan, an IIM Bangalore professor, be given the top job as “he is a sangh man, our man.”
When asked about the BJP’s electoral prospects in the upcoming general elections, Swamy exuded confidence of the party emerging victorious. He, however, had a word of caution for the saffron leaders: “Development is necessary, but not enough to win elections. The BJP should focus on Hindutva.”
“There are a few things that will take place before the 2019 elections that will ensure the BJP’s victory, but we can’t win on development alone,” he quipped, hinting at the possibility of an ordinance being issued to clear disputes over building a Ram mandir in Ayodhya. He added that all Indians should remember their ancestors were Hindus.