Amid mounting tension between the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the finance ministry, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan on Tuesday said the central bank is like a seat belt in a car, without which accidents can happen. Pitching for respecting the institutional autonomy of the RBI, he said the central bank has the liberty to say no if the government pushes it to be lenient.

Ahead of the November 19 meeting of the RBI Board, he said the objective of the Board is to protect the institution and not serve others' interests. "The RBI is something like a seat belt. As a driver, the driver being the government, it has the possibility of not putting on a seat belt but of course if you do not put on your seat belt you get into an accident and the accident can be quite severe," he told CNBC TV18.