Questions On RBI's Credibility Outlandish, Says Nirmala

Finance Minister slams criticism on transfer of surplus to exchequer

Any suggestions on the credibility of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are “outlandish”, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday, responding to criticism over the transfer of ₹1.76 lakh crore surplus from the central bank to the exchequer.

Speaking a day after the Central government’s windfall from the RBI, she said the government was yet to decide on the deployment of the funds.

“I cannot comment right now on how these funds would be deployed. We will inform [the media] only after we have taken a decision,” she said at a press briefing here.

Ms. Sitharaman and Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur were in the city for a meeting with tax officials, traders, entrepreneurs and industry experts on the issues related to the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Refutes Rahul

The Minister slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over his remarks accusing the Narendra Modi government of “stealing” money from the RBI. “Whenever Congress MP Rahul Gandhi has used words like chori and chor (thievery) [pertaining to the NDA government], a thing that comes to my mind is that though he tried his best to malign us using such words, the public has given him and his party a fitting reply, ” she said, and added that the Congress had no right to tarnish the RBI’s reputation.