Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday, August 22, slammed the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Union government, reacting to a report in The Wire that said an Intelligence Bureau (IB) team had visited Ashoka University amid the controversy surrounding professor Sabayasachi Das' research paper. The Rajya Sabha MP said that "the Modi government is only proving the point about Murder of Democracy in India". The reports of the IB visit came amid the continuing controversy over a paper by Das, formerly an Assistant Professor at the University’s Department of Economics. Titled ‘Democratic Backsliding in the World’s Largest Democracy’, the paper suggested that the BJP had carried out ‘electoral manipulation’ in the 2019 general elections.

Soon after the paper went viral on social media and triggered a controversy, the University issued a statement distancing itself from Das’s work. A few days later, Das quit the university. Since then, his colleagues from several departments at the university have expressed solidarity with Das, demanding that the University take steps to ensure academic freedom and also offer his position back to Das.

Reports of an IB team visiting Ashoka University came just two days ahead of the deadline by the faculty members to accept their demands to not interfere in their work, and to address the issue concerning Das by August 23.

Sources at the university campus told IANS that a team of IB sleuths had arrived at the varsity campus to look for Das. However, they were informed by the varsity officials that Das is on leave. Following the conversation, the IB officials reportedly wished to meet other faculty members of the Economics Department. The department was the first to come out and express solidarity with Das, and the faculty members even threatened to stop teaching from the coming monsoon semester unless their demands to ensure academic freedom and reinstate Das were met.

Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh, reacting to the story by The Wire, said, "By sending the Intelligence Bureau after an academic in a premier private university -- for analysing with evidence democratic backsliding in India -- the Narendra Modi-led Central government is only proving the point about the murder of democracy in India. Truly unprecedented."

By sending the Intelligence Bureau after an academic in a premier private university—for analysing with evidence democratic backsliding in India—the Modi government is only proving the point about Murder of Democracy in India. Truly unprecedented! https://t.co/vSkhEw06AZ

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) August 22, 2023

Das had resigned from the university earlier this month following the latter's attempt to investigate his research paper titled 'Democratic Backsliding in the World's Largest Democracy', after which professor Pulapre Balakrishnan too resigned in protest over acceptance of Das’s resignation.

Balakrishna, in his resignation letter, wrote, "I have resigned from my position based on my belief that there was a grave error of judgment in the response to the attention received by Das’ paper on social media. Academic freedom was violated in the response, and it would be unconscionable for me to remain (in the post)."

Several departments of the varsity including Economics, Sociology and Anthropology and Political Science have extended their solidarity to Das, demanding his reinstatement immediately. As many as 320 economists from 91 universities across the country have extended their support to Das, urging the varsity to immediately reinstate him.

The Department of Economics had expressed its disappointment over the acceptance of Das' resignation, and had written an open letter to the governing body of the varsity saying the ‘’hasty’’ acceptance has ruptured their faith. The faculty members had also demanded that the university must ensure that its governing body does not interfere in their work and urged it to address the issue concerning Das by August 23. Faculty members in the university had earlier written a letter to the varsity administration flagging concerns over academic freedom in the institution.