Right to information practised by govt: Chidambaram's dig over economic data 'suppression'
New Delhi: Senior Congress leader P Chidambaram on Sunday took a swipe at the Centre over allegations of suppressing data on consumer spending, saying this is the right to information practised by the government.
The former finance minister's remarks come after a media report cited the latest consumption expenditure survey by the National Statistical Office (NSO) to claim that consumer spending fell for the first time in more than four decades in 2017-18, primarily driven by slackening rural demand.
The report also claimed the NSO report was approved to be released on June 19 this year but was withheld by the government agency owing to its "adverse" findings.
"Last year, data on employment was suppressed. Now, data on consumption is being suppressed. This is the right to information practised by the government," Chidambaram, who is lodged in jail in cases of corruption and money laundering, said in a tweet in Hindi.
In another tweet, he also urged journalist Aatish Taseer and Amnesty India head Aakar Patel to not "give up the fight".
In the tweet posted by his family on his behalf, Chidambaram said, "Hang in there Mr Aatish Taseer and Mr Aakar Patel. Don't give in to intimidation, don't give up the fight."
Last week, the Ministry of Home Affairs revoked the OCI card of British author Taseer, saying he concealed the fact that his father was a Pakistani.
Critics have countered it, claiming Taseer was being targeted for his write-up "Divider-in-Chief" in the Time magazine which was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the run-up to the 2019 parliamentary election.
The CBI on Friday registered a case against Amnesty International India and three of its associate organisations for alleged violation of laws pertaining to Rs 36 crore foreign funding.
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NEET student hangs self in Rajasthan's Sikar
Jaipur (PTI): A student preparing for the NEET examination allegedly committed suicide by hanging himself in a rented room in Rajasthan's Sikar on Friday, police said.
According to the police, the student allegedly hanged himself from a ceiling fan using his sister's scarf while one sister was attending coaching classes and the other was in the bathroom.
He had appeared in the NEET UG exam 2026, which was cancelled due to paper leak, they said.
Udyog Nagar SHO Rajesh Kumar said that the deceased, identified as Pradeep Meghwal, was a resident of Kanika ki Dhani village in Jhunjhunu's Gudha Gaudji area.
He had been living in a rented room in Sikar's Jaldhari Nagar area with his two sisters while preparing for NEET over the last three years.
His elder sister later found him hanging and informed the landlord and police after bringing him down, officials said.
The SHO said the body was kept at SK Hospital mortuary, and a postmortem had not been conducted.
The student's father, Rajesh Kumar Meghwal, told police that Pradeep's NEET examination had gone well and the family was expecting him to score around 650 marks.
Former Rajasthan deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot expressed grief over the incident and linked it to anxiety among students after reports of irregularities and paper leaks in NEET 2026.
Pilot said repeated paper leak incidents and cancellation of examinations were affecting students' mental health and demanded a time-bound investigation and strict action against those responsible.
