New Delhi: A day after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley came out in full support of Chief Economic Adviser (CEA) Arvind Subramanian, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy today said he is "suspending" his demand for sacking the CEA if the government considers him patriotic despite his attempts in the past of trying to arm-twist India.
Swamy went on backfoot only after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley came in full support of Arvind Subramanian saying that he “has provided valuable insights from time to time.”
A day after Jaitley’s strong defence of CEA in face of his barrage of attack, Swamy tweeted this morning "If an Indian?, held patriotic, can advise a foreign nation where he works, to twist India's arm, is to be forgiven, then I suspend my demand".
"AS (Arvind Subramanian) to US Cong: "US initiatives by discriminating against India companies and exporters will exert pressure on India to open up" AS 13/3/13 !," Swamy tweeted.
“If BJP Union govt says that we know all about AS (Subramanian) but still he is an asset, then I will suspend my demand and wait for events to prove truth,” he said.
Swamy caused a flutter yesterday when he sought Subramanian's sacking for allegedly taking anti-India stance when he was an IMF economist in Washington prior to joining the Finance Ministry.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley debunked Swamy's call for sacking Subramanian saying "Government has full confidence in CEA. His advice to government from time to time has been of great value".
Earlier in the day, BJP had distanced itself from Swamy’s demand.
Subramanian was appointed CEA by the BJP government in October 2014 after his predecessor Raghuram Rajan moved to the RBI as Governor in September 2013.
Swamy further tweeted today "If BJP Union govt says that we know all about AS but still he is an asset, then I will suspend my demand and wait for events to prove truth".
