Petty politics looms RBI; Rahul urges Governor to stand up against govt

The reported amount of Rs 3.6 lakh crore is more than one-third of the total reserves of Rs 9.59 lakh crore the RBI maintains to cover various risks including market risk, operational risk, credit risk and contingency risk.

Congress President Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday urged Reserve Bank of India Governor Urjit Patel to stand up to the government that is asking the central bank for money to "fix the mess his (Prime Minister Narendra Modi's) genius economic theories have created".

Embedding an Indian Express report that said that the Finance Ministry was asking the central bank to transfer a surplus of Rs 3.6 lakh crore to the government, Rahul tweeted: "Rs 36,00,00,00,00,000. That's how much the Prime Minister needs from the RBI to fix the mess his genius economic theories have created."

"Stand up to him Mr Patel. Protect the nation," he added.

The Indian Express report, quoting sources, said that the RBI felt the government's attempt to dip into its reserves can adversely impact macroeconomic stability and has thus been averse to the proposal.

The reported amount of Rs 3.6 lakh crore is more than one-third of the total reserves of Rs 9.59 lakh crore the RBI maintains to cover various risks including market risk, operational risk, credit risk and contingency risk.