My wife doesn't want me to join politics: Raghuram Rajan on joining Congress

In an interview to The Print, Rajan pointed out that he has said repeatedly that he is an academic and his business is “not kissing babies” but people don't believe him.

Moreover, he added in the interview that he has a family and a wife, "who doesn't want me to enter politics for a good reason".

"So, rather than enter politics what I would like to do is help guide where I can,” he reiterated.

Quizzed on whether he would join the Congress, he said, “And that's what I try and do. So where I feel government policies are going off track regardless of whether I'm government or not - I talk about it.”

On Rahul Gandhi

Rajan also shared his views on what he thought of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and whether he advises him.

Firstly, he dismissed the “wrong portrayal” of Rahul since he knows that he's "smart, intelligent, and also brave". In his view, people discount and they should not that this is a family which has seen the grandmother assassinated and the father blown up.

Rajan said that if he had that kind of a experience he would be “hiding in bed all the time”. He was amazed that Rahul engaged in politics and moved around in the midst of crowds.

So, he felt that Rahul had a lot of attributes that are “commendable” and asked people to look at his record of what he's been saying on events. Rajan felt that Rahul had been right during Covid...(when he said) we need to do more preparation and need to act early.

Reasonable leader

“It was the Congress calling off rallies which eventually led to the stopping politicking during the second wave,” he said.

However, the former RBI governor admitted that Rahul does not have all the answers. But in his opinion “he is a very reasonable leader contrary to what has been portrayed”.

He has strong convictions, you have to debate those convictions if you disagree with them but he's perfectly willing to engage in that debate, he pointed out.

Rajan at Bharat Jodo Yatra

Speculation over Rajan joining the Congress gained ground when he joined Rahul's Bharat Jodo Yatra in December 2022 and he spoke to Rahul on the sidelines of the yatra.

At that time, BJP's IT department head Amit Malviya commented that it was "not a surprise" that Rajan joined Rahul's yatra. He dismissed Rajan as saying that "he fancies himself as the next Manmohan Singh."

Just that his commentary on India’s economy should be discarded with disdain, he added, claiming it is "coloured and opportunistic".