After Amartya Sen's criticism,NITI Aayog VC offers him a 'challenge'
A week after eminent economist Amartya Sen said India had taken a "quantum jump in the wrong direction" since 2014, NITI Aayog Vice-Chairman Rajiv Kumar said the Nobel laureate should spend some time in the country. "I wish Professor Sen would...at least review work done in four years," Kumar said. He also dared Sen to "show me another period of four years where so much work has been done."
What did Sen say?
Sen's comments had miffed not just Kumar, but several people, when he said that "we are getting backwards in the fastest-growing economy." Twenty years ago, India was the second-best after Sri Lanka in the region, but "now it is the second-worst" after Pakistan, he said. Inequality had been ignored by the government, while scheduled tribes had been left out of development, he added.
'Structural reforms are ensuring benefits of growth reaching everyone'
Asked to comment on Sen's statements, Kumar asserted never in four years had "so much work been done for making India a cleaner, inclusive and more caring economy." Structural reforms had ensured that benefits of growth are reaching the last person, he said. "If these things are not clear to Sen, then I think he should spend some time here."
Though Sen has actively criticized Modi, he's lauded him too
Sen has been a longtime critic of the Modi government, alleging mistreatment of minorities. Ahead of 2014, he had announced he doesn't want Modi as the prime minister. However, Sen has also praised Modi on occasions, lauding his Swachh Bharat Campaign and crediting him for ushering in positivity and optimism. "We can even learn from Gujarat...in things like market economic expansion," he had said.
