Srinivas Kamat

Jagdish Bhagwati, Narendra Modi's go-to person on economic policy, the other day criticising Amartya Sen by saying that the latter was out to 'get both of them' on the demonetisation issue is a bit difficult to digest. Firstly, because one would believe that eminent people are expected to show balance and propriety in speech and word. This is necessary since even if they do not believe so, there are many who look up to them as icons and want to emulate their achievements.

Secondly,  coming forward with views on government policy or initiatives is part of a democratic process and Sen is fully entitled to express his views unless  Bhagwati's intention is to stifle free speech. In whatever Bhagwati said in relation to the GDP not having been affected by demonetisation, the figures are up in the open since only the CSO seems to have shown a growth for GDP in the demonetisation quarter -- Oct-Dec 2016, and has forecasted a GDP close to 7.1% while all other agencies in India and abroad including the 'Harvard' ones have predicted a drop and position GDP in 2016-17 to be around 6.5%. 

Even the head of the CSO, T C A Anant  has been ambiguous about his own forecasts and has gone on record as covered in national newspapers  saying that there are 'many' factors which affect GDP and that they have 'made many assumptions'. But he still maintains that this may not change the GDP figure! Thus Bhagwati taking figures which may not be correct and then going overboard based on these may not be proper unless he is not bothered about his own credibility. 

This is the state of affairs in our country now where Narendra Modi on the first input about the GDP increase in the Oct-Dec 2016 period from the CSO pounced on it and went about deriding his critics on demonetisation in his inimitable manner and then it was his Man Friday in Arun Jaitley and now Bhagwati in the manner of Don Quixote is tilting against Sen's windmills on the same subject. The immaturity in our top leadership in all this is stunning.