Arvind Subramanian, who is being billed as a front-runner in the race to replace RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, is under attack from BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, who had earlier launched a series of attacks on the outgoing central bank chief.
Arvind Subramanian, the Chief Economic Advisor to the Narendra Modi government, is being accused of having worked against India's interests, a charge that first surfaced when he was appointed to the post about two years ago.
Subramanian Swamy, BJP leader and Rajya Sabha member, now wants AS to be "sacked".
In a series of tweets, Swamy targeted AS — a UPA government appointee — for allegedly working against the interests of Indian companies in a dispute before the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
Swamy spoke about Arvind Subramanian in a series of tweets posted on Wednesday.
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
Was AS deposing before US Cong Committee against India as a US citizen or Indian? Does any PT know?
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) June 22, 2016
Now PTs can understand why our core economic sectors could not perform last two years. Trojan horses galore in MoF/ Fin Institutions
— Subramanian Swamy (@Swamy39) June 22, 2016
Arvind Subramanian is supposed to have deposed before the US government early 2014 to initiate action against Indian pharmaceutical companies in a conflict pertaining to intellectual property rights (IPR) violation.
"If India does not address the problems created by Section 3(d) of the patent legislation or by compulsory licensing for nonworking, the United States should consider initiating WTO disputes against India," he told the US Congress in a written testimony, reported The Times of India days after his appointment in October 2014.
Swamy also trained his guns on him, holding the former IMF economist responsible for the Congress hardening its stance on the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Bill.
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
Arvind Subramanian is said to the "most likely" candidate to succeed Raghuram Rajan, whose term ends in September this year. He is believed to ahead of the other four candidates the Modi government is considering, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
The other candidates in the fray include Urjit Patel, currently deputy governor at the RBI, and Arundhati Bhattarcharya, chairman of State Bank of India, the country's biggest lender.
