Amartya Sen condemns ABVP violence in Delhi

Noted economist and Nobel laureate, Amartya Sen, in an interview at the launch of his book condemned the violence on the campus of Delhi University’s Ramjas college, calling it wholly anti-democratic.”To say we can’t discuss a certain point of view even before the discussion begins is highly dangerous,” he said.

Anti-national is a peculiar term to come from a minority government

He also reminded the media that the ruling government came to power with a meager vote percentage of 31% in the 2014 general elections. He said,“Anti-national is a peculiar term to come from a minority government. It shows that there is a level of arrogance there. A 31 per cent vote share certainly does not allow you to label remaining 69 per cent to be anti-national.”

“It is becoming harder to argue freely if you have to look out to check if you are being called an ‘anti-national’, or if people with sticks are trying to break up your lecture, or if you are being charged with sedition.”

Slams the ‘Universal basic income’ scheme

Like many other economists, Amartya Sen opines that the concept of ‘universal basic income’ will only allow the government to forget its responsibility to public welfare, public health and education.

He said, “Universal Basic Income is like giving cash to beggars on the street. It seems like abdication of responsibility. I don’t think that universal basic income is the best way of thinking about poverty. It’s a way of saying ‘give them cash, get rid of the problem and don’t bother me’.”