If the RBI headed by Governor Urjit Patel gave its approval to the Prime Minister, then ostensibly the RBI was confident of making currency notes available easily. We all know that is not the case today. There are not enough notes in the system and this shortage can continue for at least a few more weeks, if not months.

It is then even more shocking that the RBI Governor has not uttered a word in public in the last two weeks on the situation confronting the nation. How can the head of the RBI that is solely responsible for the current currency crisis not been seen clarifying and assuring the nation amid this grave crisis? The government speaking on the situation is not the same as the RBI speaking, since the central bank is independent and autonomous, as it should be. Or is it?

Urjit Patel was appointed as the Governor of the RBI this September by the Narendra Modi government. Urjit Patel was also an independent director and the chairman of the audit committee of the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC) from FY’06 to FY’13. Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat in this period. GSPC is a Gujarat state public sector company, under the Ministry of Petrochemicals & Energy. The Minister was Saurabh Dalal Patel. During this time GSPC’s loans from banks ballooned from ₹270 crores to ₹14,000 crores.