Person with self respect can't work with NDA: TMC on Patel's resignation

The sudden resignation of RBI governor Urjit Patel is an "ominous sign" for the Indian economy and said a person with self-respect can't work in NDA government, senior TMC leader Sukhendu Sekhar Roy Monday said.

"The BJP regime functions arbitarily. No person who has self-respect can work in the NDA government. Be it the decision on demonetisation or GST the BJP government has taken steps to destroy the economy," Roy said. Patel's resignation is an "ominous sign" for the Indian economy, Roy, also the deputy leader of the party in Rajya Sabha said without elaborating.

Party supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who is in Delhi, had in a tweet described Patel's resignation as "unprecedented" and said that economic emergency in the country has begun.

"This has never happened before. This is unprecedented. We are deeply concerned. The RBI is the custodian of public money. The credibility of all institutions is being destroyed. This is a financial and economic emergency," Banerjee said in a tweet.

Patel resigned from his post citing personal reasons on Monday amid differences between the RBI and the government on a variety of issues. His resignation was being speculated right from the time the government cited a never-before-used provision of the RBI Act to get him to consider its views on relaxing lending norms for segments such as small and medium enterprises, the appropriate size of reserves the central bank must maintain easing norms for weak banks.

Patel, 55, who took over as the 24th governor of the central bank on September 5, 2016, had the shortest tenure since 1992. He was hand-picked by the BJP-led government after his predecessor Raghuram Rajan was denied a second term.