There is an uneasy feeling that the Reserve Bank of India(RBI) is being targeted by the government of the day for its reserves and other funds. The finance ministry wanted Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to transfer a surplus of Rs 3.6 lakh crore and believes that the central bank’s capital requirements and terms for the transfer of its reserves to the government are based on a very “conservative” assessment of risk, a media report said. This would amount to more than a third of the total Rs 9.59 lakh crore reserves of the central bank, to the government, the report said. The RBI, however, had opposed to this view and believes that the government’s request for transfer surplus can adversely impact macroeconomic stability. The central bank was of the view that the use of its reserves will hurt the government’s commitment to fiscal prudence. The government recently called for the RBI to relax its lending restrictions on some banks, and Centre has also been trying to trim the RBI’s regulatory powers by setting up a new regulator for the country’s payments system. This is totally unacceptable since the government is just a custodian and not the owner of public money. It is wise to understand that any government that thinks it has the right to act like the owner of public money like Muhammed bin Tughlaq. The Mughal mistook the taxpayer’s money as his own and the empire went into a tizzy despite being the first conqueror of the south of India. This was the mistake which the UPA government attempted to do and because of which NPAs had shot up to uncontrollable levels. The UPA leaders were severely criticised for sending the economy into a spin. They also thought that being in power enabled them to play with anything whether they had a claim to it or not. The people whose money they were playing are suffering today. Their interest accrual has halved. Banks deposits are critical despite recapitalisation with lakhs of crores of rupees. When one mistake should have been another’s caution, the successor NDA government followed the predecessor by wanting to get its hands to the Rs.3.6 lakh crore from the RBI’s reserves so as to reduce the fiscal deficit which was created by the NDA’s profligacy and use it to recapitalise banks. This is a folly with dire consequences to the financial health of the country. Any government ought to be reminded that RBI and banks are custodians of public money and that the government does not own the RBI or the banks The people need to speak up with a clear voice. They need to tell the government to keep its hands off their money. The government has no right on it. Even the dividend the banks and RBI are paying is not a gift from the government. If the government of the day goes on scooping the hard earned savings of the public depositors then the nation will have to face a crisis. By all means any such attempt has to be prevented. Governments come and go but people have to save their own hard earned money. Those sitting in the government must not forget they are there not to enjoy their time and loot.