'Rajan as patriotic as us'. Modi’s criticism of Swamy too little too late

PM Narendra Modi finally broke his silence and how.

During an interview with Times Now, when asked his views about the latest blitzkrieg campaigns Subramanian Swamy has launched against RBI governor Raghuram Rajan and Arun Jaitley, Modi said, "No one is bigger than the party. If someone is making comments to seek publicity, it is wrong. I am very clear about this."

The prime minister also put to rest the ambiguity surrounding what he thought of Rajan and the aspersions  being cast on the RBI chief, coming out in strong support of the economist.

He said: “Raghuram Rajan is as much a patriot as anyone else. He has contributed immensely to the country. Whoever has been targeting Rajan has not been doing the right thing. I wish him the best for whatever he does.”

So what did these statements from the PM achieve?

For one he has put a lid on the Swamy-Jaitley controversy by making it crystal clear where his priorities lie. He has also clarified, though belatedly, his views on what he thinks of the RBI governor.

However, his critics would like to point out that much water has flown in the Yamuna since Subramanian Swamy had launched an all-out attack against Rajan and that the RBI chief was left to fend for himself with no clarity from the top. The PM has spoken, but its a clear case of too little, too late.

When Narendra Modi speaks, it sparks an instant war on social media. His cheerleaders rejoiced at the “rap on the knuckles” of Subramanian Swamy. His detractors dismissed this as a PR attempt of bolting the stable once the horses have fled.

Senior Congress leader Kapil Sibal said, "PM should have defended Rajan when the time was right. He should have spoken when Rajan was being attacked. This is dual politics. Now that he is gone, the PM is defending him. It is two faced politics."

Modi's statement calling Rajan a patriot and second to none came after close to a month of silence. The virulent tirade against the RBI governor by Subramanian Swamy and his cohorts went unchecked. Finance minister Arun Jaitley did step in to defend Rajan, but it was clear that he had to fend for himself.

Ritual obituaries were written and kind words were shared in such perfunctory manner that it didn’t leave anybody in any kind of doubt about what the government thinks of Raghuram Rajan.  

Once Raghuram Rajan made public his plan of not opting for a second term, the government was more relieved than anguished. Within 48 hours the guessing game moved to a new level from “how Rajan had to go” to “Who will replace Rajan.”

But the most important question that arises is – why now? Why did the PM choose to react now and not before? According to sources within the BJP, this time the PM was practically left with no choice.

The impression gaining ground was that the PM himself wanted Arun Jaitley to be cut to size and this is the reason why a sense of panic was setting in.

Everyday articles in the newspapers have talked about the sense of disquiet within the Jaitley camp and how RSS has prevailed upon Modi to put Jaitley to his plus.

All this was reinforced by tweets and soundbytes of Subramanian Swamy.

Swamy's attack on Jaitley and the bureaucrats was so aggressive that it left even partial admirers of the BJP MP rattled.

The perception was that as long as Modi’s unguided missile was attacking Rajan, everybody was fine with it but the second that missile honed in on to his old target, it created flutters within the government as well as the party.

With this statement of the PM the party and the government think that they have solved the Swamy problem for now, but their bigger worry is something else.

With six years in the Rajya Sabha and a proven track record of disruption, reining in Subramanian Swamy will be the biggest challenge for the government and the party.