Raghuram Rajan, former governor of the Reserve Bank of India , gave us a break from his reserved and dour predecessors. His one-liners and independent stance on rate cuts made him a media darling. Here are a few of his comments that riled the government, delighted his fans and made headlines "I don't know what you want to call me... Santa Claus... you want to call me hawk, I don't know. I don't go by this. My name is Raghuram Rajan and I do what I do."Rajan said this when he had delivered a rate cut. The government wanted a lower interest rates to boost the economy but he did not oblige for long. He said he would take a decision only when he finds it necessary and not due to pressure or to project an image."When people look at today's (Wednesday's) inflation reading 4.87 per cent, they can't understand why rates haven't been cut more. They do not understand the fact that we are trying to look at future inflation. Now, that is an art, not a science."This was Rajan's attempt to counter his critics who cites low inflation to demand a rate cut."I am also cautioning against picking a particular sector such as manufacturing for encouragement simply because it has worked well for China . India is different, and developing at a different time, and we should be agnostic about what will work."Central bank governors don't comment on the government's business often. By not confining himself to his demit, the monetary policy , Rajan was perhaps trying to prove his independence and defiance of the government."I think we have still to get to a place where we feel satisfied. We have this saying - 'in the land of the blind, the one-eyed man is king'.Speaking at Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF , Rajan said this when asked about India being the bright spot in the global economy. The comment drew criticism from several Union ministers. Many found the comment disparaging the government's efforts to improve the economy. Rajan later apologised for the comment, but only to rub it in further: "I want to apologize to a section of the population, the visually impaired, who might be hurt by my statement. My intent in saying 'One-eyed King in the land of blind' was to say that our outperformance is in the midst of global weakness,""I don't want to take that James Bond (image). But, a banker on the move - I will take that."Rajan got the Bond image when he was seen as someone coming to rescue the Indian rupee. The rupee rallied after Rajan took a slew of measures just days after he took over."The governorship of the central bank is not meant to win one votes or Facebook 'likes'. But I hope to do the right thing, no matter what the criticism, even while looking to learn from the criticism."With his smart one-liner he did win a lot of likes on social media . Celebrity writer Shobhaa De became his cheerleader."We are neither hawks nor doves. we are actually owls."Rajan said this after he delivered a surprise increase in rates. He was answering a question on the contradiction in the RBI's third-quarter monetary policy, which was hawkish in its stance as it unexpectedly raised rates, but dovish in its guidance because of indications of a pause. By owl he meant a vigilant, careful watcher who avoids extremes.