P Chidambaram hits back at Arun Jaitley for his 'compulsive contrarian' remark

If a person disagreeing with the government is a "compulsive contrarian", can someone who always agrees with it be called "his master's voice", senior Congress leader P Chidambaram asked on Wednesday, March 20 hit back at Finance Minister Arun Jaitley.

READ: In 14 Points, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley Debunks Opposition's 'economic Failure' Attack On Modi Government

The finance minister has slammed 108 economists and social scientists as "compulsive contrarians" for raising concern over "political interference" to influence statistical data.

In his blog published on Tuesday, March 19, Jaitley had said these "compulsive contrarians" have repeatedly signed memorandums of what he said was manufactured political issues against the present government.

READ: Arun Jaitley Dubs '108 Purported Economists' As Compulsive Contrarians

Responding to Jaitley, Chidambaram tweeted: "According to Mr. Jaitley, one who disagrees with the government is a 'compulsive contrarian'. Can we then say that anyone who always agrees with the government is 'His Master's Voice'?"

As many as 108 economists and social scientists, including Jean Dreze (Allahabad University), Emily Breza (Harvard University), Satish Deshpande (Delhi University), Esther Duflo (MIT, US) and Jayati Ghosh (JNU), had made an appeal last week, expressing their concern over "political interference" in influencing statistical data in India.