Jawaharlal Nehru University professor CP Chandrasekhar has resigned from a government-appointed committee that was set to hold its first meeting to review India’s economic data after a masked mob attacked the campus on Sunday.
The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation had last month set up the Standing Committee on Economic Statistics, led by former chief statistician Pronab Sen, to “review the extant framework relating to data sources, indicators, concepts or definitions and other issues” of the economic data-sets, the Business Standard reported.
The panel was created amid concerns that there was “political interference” in the statistical system.
Speaking to Business Standard, Chandrasekhar said the attack on JNU “has further undermined the faith in the system. It shows that we are now living in a different world and it’s hard to work with a government in which you have lost faith”.
In an e-mail to committee members, who were supposed to meet on Tuesday, the professor said he felt that “under current conditions, this committee is unlikely to be able to restore the credibility of the statistical system, which has been undermined in the recent past”.
The attack on students and teachers at JNU by unidentified goons on Sunday has triggered protests across India as the clamour grew for the resignation of the vice chancellor who is being blamed for inaction during the violence that left 34 people injured.
Even after 36 hours, Delhi Police said no arrests have been made and that they have transferred the case to the Crime Branch, who claimed to have found “vital clues”.
The opposition and JNU students blamed the ABVP, the students' wing of the BJP for the violence, and accused the Delhi Police of inaction. The ABVP has denied the allegations and instead blamed Left-supported union of stage managing the violence.
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