Former Finance Secretary Garg says Nirmala wanted me out of Finance Ministry

Both Ministry of Finance and Sitharaman’s office refused to discuss the blog Garg wrote on the day he said he would have in normal course retired from the govt service except for the VRS.

Garg said he “did not share an honest and productive working relationship” with Sitharaman, who came to the finance ministry “with some pre-conceived notions about me”.

“She didn’t seem to possess confidence in me. ” he said adding differences over surplus RBI should give as dividend to the govt and handling problems of non-banks had surfaced within months of her takeover.

Sitharaman wanted him call at June 2019, before the July 5 budget presentation, he said but didn’t say why her request wasn’t immediately accepted by the govt .

“Mrs. Sitharaman asked for and insisted on my transfer from the Ministry of Finance in June 2019 itself, within one month of her taking up as FM,” wrote Garg, who exited the govt after serving the mandatory notice period on October 31, 2019.

Garg also said that he had discussed with the then Additional Principal Secretary within the Prime Minister’s Office, PK Mishra about his relationship with Sitharaman on a couple of occasions.

Garg, however on July 26, 2019, had asserted there’s no connection between his transfer from the status Finance Ministry and decision to require voluntary retirement.

The 1983 batch IAS officer of Rajasthan cadre, Garg came to the middle in 2014 and was appointed executive within the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development where he stayed.on Saturday alleged that new minister of finance Nirmala Sitharaman got him transferred out.

Under Sitharaman, the Indian policy was getting distracted from what was required to achieve her stated goal of building a USD 10 trillion economy by the first 2030s, Garg said adding that it had been also one among the explanations for his leaving the IAS and quitting the govt .

“The reform agenda and therefore the investment plan for attaining the goal of USD 10 trillion economy articulated within the Interim Budget 2019-20 however, got side-tracked and was virtually forgotten,” he said. “The Government was turning populist also .”

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