Noted economist cum academician Jean Dreze was recently arrested for violating the code of conduct by organizing a meeting without obtaining due permission from the local authorities. According to media reports, the Belgian born economist, now an Indian citizen was arrested for attempting to incite tribals in the Garhwa district of Jharkhand, and was taken into preventive custody, though he was later released.
Recently, Jean Dreze, who was campaigning for his scheme ‘Right to Food’, organized a meeting of tribals in the Garhwa district of Jharkhand. Since he obtained no permission to conduct such a meeting either from the local officials of the Election Commission or from the local administration, he was accused of attempting to spread unrest, and was thus taken into preventive custody, along with his associates Vivek Gupta and Anuj. He and his colleagues were later released on a nominal bail bond.
However, what triggered outrage among the left liberals was a statement given to the Times of India by Vivek Gupta. To quote his statement, “We were told to sign a bond that we have no complaints against the local BJP MP representing Chatra Parliamentary constituency and the state government, which Jean refused to sign.”
Without hesitating for even a moment, the left liberal intelligentsia swooped down upon the BJP, targeting them for having the economist arrested. Following are some of those tweets:-
JUST IN: Three right to food activists, Vivek, Jean Dreze and a third, arrested in Bishunpura (Garhwa, Jharkhand) for organizing meeting. Taken to local thana.@TheQuint
— Nishtha Gautam (@TedhiLakeer) March 28, 2019
Shocking beyond words!
Jean Dreze is a saint-economist, a potential Nobel awardee who lived in slums, written and done more for the poor than any economist, shunned all power and glory, took up Indian citizenship, is a pacifist.
Nothing can be more shameful than arresting him. https://t.co/KagTeBhFV8
— Yogendra Yadav (@_YogendraYadav) March 28, 2019
Renowned economist& Co-author of several books with Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, Jean Dreze is arrested with 2 other activists in Jharkhand for organizing a meeting on Right to Food! This while goons who beat up Muslim family in Gurgaon roam free& PM tomtoms 2012 DRDO achievement! https://t.co/aCVMcQOUK9
— Prashant Bhushan (@pbhushan1) March 28, 2019
This is where the narrative takes an unpleasant turn. For those unaware, Jean Dreze is a protégé of the controversial left liberal economist Dr. Amartya Sen. He presently teaches at the Delhi School of Economics as an honorary professor and is a visiting faculty at the Ranchi University. He has previously taught students at the prestigious London School of Economics, and was also a noted member of the Sonia Gandhi led National Advisory Council, which was deemed to be more powerful than the then PM of India, Dr. Manmohan Singh.
However, there’s more to this man than what meets the eye. Jean Dreze is also the partner of notorious Urban Naxal Bela Bhatia, who along with DU professor and Naxal sympathizer Nandini Sundar, are accused of having incited the Naxalites to a murder a tribal, who had raised his voice against their atrocities on his village and his family.
This was revealed to the nation by Podiyam Panda, a Naxal operative who had surrendered to the police authorities in 2017. As such, it is unlikely that he had gone to Garhwa district for a peaceful purpose. Moreover, the Naxals, as well as their influential backers are quite aghast with the massive crackdown on their deadly trade, as initiated by the present Jharkhand government, administered by CM Raghubar Das. We should appreciate that the authorities prevented Jean Dreze and his clique from creating any kind of mayhem and ensuring that the region stays peaceful.