JNU professor CP Chandrasekhar has quit a government panel tasked with reviewing economic data

A professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has quit a government panel tasked with reviewing economic data a day before its first meeting, "disturbed" by the masked mob attack on students and teachers at the university on Sunday. "I regret to inform you that, because of the situation in JNU where I stay, I will be unable to attend tomorrow's meeting," Professor CP Chandrasekhar wrote in his resignation letter.

The most disturbing part, Professor Chandrasekhar told NDTV, was "a narrative is being built to make anti-national elements be perceived as the truth".

On Sunday evening, a large mob of masked attackers armed with iron rods, sledgehammers and glass bottles barged into the JNU campus and went from hostel to hostel beating students and teachers. JNU students have alleged the role of the ABVP, a BJP-linked students' group. In turn, the ABVP as well as many BJP leaders have blamed the violence on Left groups.

In his resignation letter, Professor Chandrasekhar also appeared to refer to the controversy over surveys withheld by the centre on economy, jobs and consumer expenditure. The letter questioned the credibility of government statistics, which, he said, had been undermined recently because of political pressure.

A masked mob attack left dozens injured at JNU on Sunday night

"...I feel 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. I wish to record my appreciation of the sustained efforts of the large number of colleagues within the statistical system whom I have greatly valued working with in the past to build a robust and credible statistical base. It is unfortunate that political pressures have reduced their autonomy now, and efforts to consolidate a well-designed system are being subverted. In these circumstances, I will not be able to serve on this Committee," wrote the professor.

In January 2019, PC Mohanan resigned as acting chairman of the National Statistical Commission (NSC), a government-funded advisory body that checks the quality of official data, in protest over a delay in releasing a new set of jobs statistics. Another member, J Meenakshi, quit with him. Some of the job data was accessed by the Business Standard newspaper, which reported that India's unemployment rate in the year ending June 2018 rose to 6.1 per cent - its highest level in at least 45 years.

Later in November, the government announced it won't release the findings of the Consumer Expenditure Survey 2017-18 because of "data quality issues", amid reports that consumer spending in rural areas has dropped for the first time in more than four decades.