Raghuram Rajan's gone, so who's next on Swamy's hit list?
The irrepressible Dr Subramanian Sway is at it again.
Days after scalping the much appreciated RBI governor Raghuram Rajan, he has now begun targeting Najeeb Jung, the lieutenant governor of Delhi.
It should come as no surprise to those familiar with him, but what is indeed astonishing is that nobody in the government or the BJP, it appears, has made any effort to rein him in.
The result is that constitutional authorities continue to be targeted at will, and the government does precious little to defend them.
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| Who's in Subramanian Swamy's line of fire next? |
The unmistakable impression that one gets is that Dr Swamy is doing somebody else's dirty job. This is a situation that suits both Dr Swamy and the government.
He gets to target with gay abandon those who do not fall in line with the government's narrow world view, while those running the government get their job done without getting their hands dirty. Swamy is not in the least fazed about trampling on sensitivities. Once he chooses a target, he goes after him relentlessly, confident in the knowledge that nobody will restrain him.
As a member of Parliament, he has every right to raise issues, but what many people find objectionable is the undisguised disregard for facts and propriety. The BJP MP in Rajya Sabha mercilessly targeted Raghuram Rajan, criticising not just his stewardship of the RBI, but also doubting his commitment to the country. Dr Swamy accused the RBI governor of not being "mentally fully Indian" and of wilfully wrecking the economy.
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| Raghuram Rajan chose to exit RBI over Swamy's persistent attacks. |
Constrained by the responsibilities of his office, Rajan could not respond, and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government chose not to respond. Swamy now has Delhi's lieutenant governor, Najeeb Jung, in his sights.
Little is known of the provocation, but Jung's fault, according to the BJP MP, is that he has been in touch with Ahmad Patel, the Congress president's political secretary. This is a charge that both Patel as well as the lieutenant governor deny.
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| Delhi L-G Najeeb Jung has begun irking Swamy. |
Moreover, Swamy seems to be dwelling on the fact that Jung after all was a UPA appointee, and despite the L-G's ritual locking of horns with Delhi chief minister and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal, the man's suspect in Swamy's unrelenting eyes.
Narendra Modi looked the other way while Swamy went for the RBI, it will be interesting to see how he responds this time.
Or does this too have the Modi government's sanction?