Congress President Rahul Gandhi took to Twitter on Monday to attack Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Rahul Gandhi said, "PM Modi and his coterie of cronies, continue to destroy every institution they can get their hands on. Today, through his puppets at the board meet, he will attempt to destroy the RBI. I hope Mr Patel and his team have a spine and show him his place".

Mr Modi and his coterie of cronies, continue to destroy every institution they can get their hands on. Today, through his puppets at the #RBIBoardMeet he will attempt to destroy the RBI. I hope Mr Patel and his team have a spine and show him his place.

— Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) November 19, 2018

Financial markets, banks and corporate houses were eagerly waiting for Monday's crucial Reserve Bank of India board meeting. It is likely to set the tone on sensitive issues like easier loan sanctions to micro, small & medium enterprises (MSME), relaxation of prompt corrective action (PCA) on weaker banks, and fund transfer to the government.

The friction between the North Block and the banking regulator came under public glare when for the first time, the RBI published a dissent note on its website, expressing its disagreement with the government in setting up a separate payments regulator.

In the past week there have been signs of an uneasy truce as some government officials indicated they didn't want Patel to resign and would allow some issues to be kicked down the road.

But at the same time, Modi supporters have made it clear they want major policy change, and a senior finance ministry official said some government backers on the board had been given the green light to push hard at Monday's meeting.

Spearheading that push is new board member S. Gurumurthy, a confidante of Modi's. He is an accountant and columnist who was until recently co-convenor of the Swadeshi Jagaran Manch, the economic wing of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is the fountainhead of the BJP.

Meanwhile, it's being reported that the government has been pressing the Mumbai-based RBI and Governor Urjit Patel to accede to a range of demands that could help to boost demand. They include making it easier and cheaper for small businesses to borrow, easing lending curbs on 11 state-run banks which had debt and capital adequacy issues, and providing more liquidity to shadow lenders.

They also want the government to have access to surplus reserves the RBI has built up - money that could be used for the administration's populist programmes including boosts to rural wages, fuel subsidies and buying crops at a guaranteed minimum price.

The RBI has hit back by questioning whether the government wanted to destroy its autonomy and warning that when this happened in Argentina in 2010, financial markets took fright.

It's widely expected that today's RBI board meeting is likely to be a marathon one. The last board meeting on October 23 ran for eight hours, taking up only two out of 12 agenda items, one RBI board member said. The rest will be discussed today, the member told Reuters.