Amid the rising controversies on the government holding back the reality of the status of the Indian unemployment rate, a total of 131 Indian chartered accountants (CAs) debunked the claims made by 108 economists and social scientists, and said the claims made by the latter were 'politically motivated'.
The joint statement of the economists came in the backdrop of controversy over the revision of gross domestic product (GDP) numbers and withholding employment data by the NSSO.
"It is unusual for a particular set to come together to discredit all data and long-standing institutions of eminence. The appeal seems even more devious as the data in respect of GDP, Poverty Alleviation, Ease of Doing Business, are being duly published even by international agencies including World Bank, IMF, and many others. The international data and independent agencies have clearly confirmed the data being published by government agencies," the CAs argued in their statement.
The economists appealed to all professional economists, statisticians and independent researchers to come together to raise their voice against the tendency "to suppress uncomfortable data" and impress upon the government to restore access and integrity to public statistics and re-establish institutional independence.
The CAs, on this, argued that the economists ignored the opposition and media and are already playing their roles. They hit back, saying, that the allegations by the economists and social scientists 'seem choreographed and resemble the previous 'Award Wapsi' drama'.
Two members of the National Statistical Commission (NSC), including the acting chairman, subsequently resigned because they felt the NSSO was delaying the release of the report, though the NSC itself had officially cleared it, they added.
The 108 experts, from across the globe, further said that in fact, any statistics that cast an iota of doubt on the achievement of the government seem to get revised or suppressed on the basis of some questionable methodology.
(With inputs from PTI)
First Published: Mar 18, 2019 2:26 PM IST
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