NEW DELHI - In a public snub to Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley told the media that he has "full confidence" in Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser to the Modi government.
After claiming credit for toppling RBI chief Raghuram Rajan, Swamy, a BJP lawmaker in the Rajya Sabha, was on the warpath to ensure Subramanian's exit as well. "Sack him," Swamy tweeted on Wednesday morning.
Both the Modi government and the BJP have dismissed Swamy's remarks.
In a press conference on Wednesday afternoon in Delhi, Jaitley put an end the furore and speculation which Swamy's tweets had generated. "The government has full confidence in the Chief Economic Adviser," Jaitley told the media.
“We do not share Subramanian Swamy’s views,” he said. “One has to ponder as to what extent one should attack officers whose office constrains them from responding.”
The BJP has also distanced itself from Swamy's remarks.
"The BJP does not agree with Subramanian Swamy’s views on government’s Chief Economic Adviser Arvind Subramanian. This is his personal opinion," BJP said in a statement.
Who said to US Cong on 13/3/13 the US should act against India to defend US Pharmaceuticals interests? Arvind Subramanian MoF !! Sack him!!!
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) June 22, 2016
Guess who encouraged Congi to become rigid on GST clauses ? Jaitely's economic adviser Arvind Subramanian of Washington DC
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) June 22, 2016
While Swamy has claimed credit for Rajan's exit, it isn't clear how far he influenced Modi government's decision not to offer another term to the RBI chief, who had famously predicted the 2008 global economic crisis.
After Rajan's exit, Swamy has vowed to weed out 27 other bureaucrats, who, he claims, are loyal to the Congress Party.
There has been speculation about whether the new RBI chief could be Subramanian or Arvind Panagariya, the vice-chairman of Niti Aayog, who, unlike Rajan, are appointees of NDA government.
Swamy's tweets came a few hours after Bloomberg News reported that top economists had Subramanian pegged as the most likely to succeed Rajan. But neither Subramanian nor Panagariya are among the candidates who are on the long list to replace him.
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