It is not an unreasonable question seeing as how the ink is not yet dry on Raghuram Rajan’s decision to depart for the US rather than seek another term and Subramanian Swamy has already turned his AK-47 onto another fiscal whizkid. Chief Economic Advisor Arvind Subramanian may not be ducking for cover but he seems to be firmly in the Swamy gunsights and is as likely to be shot down as he is to be hit by a ricochet of the Rajan episode.
Swamy was so far flailing about and making rude sounds about the Gandhi family and flinging clods of scandal at the Congress with whom he once had a certain togetherness.
The ‘National Herald scandal’ was a Swamy campaign and, for or against, he gave enough grist for the media mill and his outrageous quotes kept him skittering about the edge of the limelight even if he wasn’t getting into the inner circle.
Want something that leaks into the tent and makes a stink? Get Swamy to do a bit of audio-visual grandstanding. Chasing Rahul’s degree in Cambridge or demanding an apology from Kejriwal over the Maheish Girri row. Nice, harmless stuff in the national sense — the ideal guy on a slow news day.
But this time round it isn’t Sonia and it isn’t a day in court baiting the Gandhis, this is more sinister. He is shooting indoors, hurting the image of his own party. It is like he has been given a cadre and a blueprint to destruct and destroy a current fiscal pyramid. There is just too much hostility and the timing is terrible. The world has just absorbed the shock of Rajan’s shabby goodbye and now there is another high profile career assassination waiting in the wings.
Question: Is Swamy envious of anyone who dictates or reworks india’s fiscal policy because he sees this as his personal turf, his passion, and, the thirst for wanting it back is now an obsession at a time when there’s talk about a Cabinet reshuffle? Regardless of the general acceptance that he was farmed out a few years ago and was only allowed out of the gate to trample the Congress’ first family and other sundry individuals?
The other question is this a lone-wolf attack? Is there a pattern in which the dismantling of the three years of the Rajan tenure is central? Somehow it is difficult to shake off the feeling that Swamy has been given a free rein. This is not Swamy messing about and having a bit of gleeful fun. This is dangerous because in his bid to be the chieftain of the fiscal fiefdom — he believes it is his by right — he could leave a great deal of damage in his wake. The moment one gets personal, insulting and runs riot, you have to suspect it is part of a bigger picture. Rajan was not ‘mentally Indian’, he was ‘wrecking the economy,’ that sort of stuff.
Now, Arvind is being painted as a US lackey, a pawn sent to the Ministry of Finance who only sees things through Congress’ eyes and other such allegations that carry little substance.
Can we afford this economic upheaval as a nation, is there any merit in it? Can it not be done with grace and dignity? Does it have to be a rabble-rousing shouting match? India is not spawned in some Saturday night revolution and it is not High Noon.