Raghuram Rajan Joins Rahul Gandhi in Bharat Jodo Yatra; BJP Says No Surprise

BJP leader Amit Malviya said that Rajan joining the Bharat Jodo yatra was not surprising.

(Photo: Altered by Chetan Bhakuni)

Former Reserve Bank of India governor Raghuram Rajan, on Wednesday, 14 December, joined Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on his Bharat Jodo Yatra in Rajasthan.

Congress party's official handle shared the picture of the two walking together with a caption saying, "The increasing number of people standing up to unite the country against hatred shows that we will be successful."

The Bharat Jodo Yatra will complete 100 days on 16 December. Other noted personalities like Medha Patkar, Swara Bhasker, Vijender Singh and Pooja Bhatt have participated in the padayatra in the past.

Chairperson of Congress party's data analytics department, Praveen Chakravarty, tweeted, "Good economists understand we live in a society and not in an economy. And that a harmonious society is the foundation for a strong economy that attracts investments & creates good jobs. Dr.Raghuram Rajan is one of those rare good economists in the world."

Rajan is known as a strong critique of the current Bharatiya Janata Party government, who has frankly expressed his views on multiple occasions. In 2018, he had criticised the government's demonetisation decision. "The two successive shocks of demonetisation and the GST had a serious impact on growth in India. Growth has fallen off interestingly at a time when growth in the global economy has been peaking up,” he had said.

In August last year, while talking to The Quint, he had said, "Government risk being penny wise and pound foolish in critical areas like education, and end up creating a lost generation of children."

BJP leader Amit Malviya said that Rajan joining the Bharat Jodo yatra was not surprising. He tweeted, "Raghuram Rajan, former RBI Governor, a Congress appointee, joining Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra is not a surprise. He fancies himself as the next Manmohan Singh. Just that his commentary on India’s economy should be discarded with disdain. It is coloured and opportunistic…"