Former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan argued that people in authority should tolerate criticism. Suppressing criticism is a “sure-fire recipe” for policy mistakes, cautioned former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan in a hard-hitting blog.
“If every critic gets a phone call from a government functionary asking them to back off, or gets targeted by the ruling party’s troll army, many will tone down their criticism. The government will then live in a pleasant make-believe environment until the harsh truth can no longer be denied,” said Rajan while remembering the achievements of noted jurist and connoisseur of liberalism in India Nani Palkhivala.
“Undoubtedly, some of the criticism, including in the press, is ill-informed, motivated, and descends into ad-hominem personal attacks. I have certainly had my share of those in past jobs. However, suppressing criticism is a sure-fire recipe for policy mistakes,” said Rajan, who is currently professing finance at the University of Chicago.
He also emphasized that people in authority should tolerate criticism as constant criticism allows period course corrections to policy.
“Governments that suppress public criticism do themselves a gross disservice,” he added.
The remarks came after incumbent Modi government removed Rathin Roy and Shamika Ravi from the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister because they were allegedly critical of the government’s policies and raised questions.
Shamika Ravi, the director of research at Brookings India, and Rathin Roy, the director of the National Institute of Public Finance and Policy, had questioned the government’s decision to borrow funds from overseas markets through the sale of sovereign bonds.
Rajan had earlier cautioned the government about the consequences of raising funds through overseas sovereign bonds.
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