P. Chidambaram
Senior Congress leader P. Chidambaram expressed disappointment over Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Arvind Subramanian's resignation, noting his views were brushed aside on many important issues including GST rates and he was not consulted before demonetisation.
"I am disappointed, but not surprised, that Dr Arvind Subramanian has decided to leave the government before the end of his term. Dr Arvind Subramanian was either not consulted or his views were brushed aside on many important issues," the former Union Finance Minister said in a tweet on Wednesday.
"It is no longer a secret that the CEA was not consulted before demonetisation. The CEA's views on GST rates and his report on the Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) were rudely brushed aside and, as a result, we have an animal that is not GST," he added.
Chidambaram also said: "I am sure that with age on his side, Dr Arvind Subramanian will return to serve under a future government.I thank Dr Arvind Subramanian for describing the UPA years of 2005-2010 as the 'boom period' of the Indian economy."
Subramanian resigned from his post on Wednesday. In a Facebook post Arun Jaitley informed about Subramanian's decision to go back to the United States on account of family commitments.
Jaitley added that he had no option but to agree with Subramanian.
Arvind Subramanian took charge of the position on 16 October 2014 succeeding Raghuram Rajan. The post of CEA was lying vacant for over a year since Raghuram Rajan left the finance ministry to join the RBI as governor in September 2013.
Formerly an economist at the International Monetary Fund, Subramanian is a widely cited expert on the economics of India, China and the changing balance of global economic power.
He is also the author of two books, India's Turn: Understanding the Economic Transformation (published in 2008) and Eclipse: Living in the Shadow of China's Economic Dominance (published in September 2011).
(With IANS inputs)
