Raghuram Rajan’s three-year tenure as RBI governor ends in September. But thanks to BJP MP Subramaniam Swamy’s demand to oust him, there’s now an online petition requesting that Rajan be retained for a second term and it has steadily been gaining steam on the internet. 

It seems the ‘Rockstar’ RBI Governor has a large number of supporters with the petition getting over 43,000 signatures in a little over a week.

b’Raghuram Rajan , File Photo | Source: PTI’

Rajesh Palaria, from Bengaluru, started the petition on Change.org, just a week ago. 

The petition reads: 

The petition comes after the recent attack on Rajan by Swamy. Swamy, had written in a letter to Modi that Rajan was responsible for “unemployment and the collapse” of industrial activity in India. 

He also accused the former Chief Economist of IMF of being a pro-west ‘UPA appointee’, and urged for his immediate removal as RBI chief. 

The attack caused quite a fair bit of controversy, and many including the Finance Minister, senior politicians in the opposition, economic analysts and global investors have, since then, lauded Rajan for his work so far.