'What are your credentials?': Ex-CEA to Priyanka Gandhi after she mocked IIT-Madras Director Kamakoti

Former Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) Krishnamurthy Subramanian on Wednesday hit back at Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi over her remarks against IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti. She had earlier mocked Kamakoti by calling him a "cow urine expert".

Subramanian asked Gandhi what "scientific or academic expertise" qualified her to mock the research of one of India's leading scientists.

Subramanian, who served as the Centre's Chief Economic Advisor from 2018 to 2021, defended Kamakoti's academic credentials and accused Gandhi of ridiculing a distinguished scholar without engaging with his work.

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'WHAT ARE YOUR CREDENTIALS?'

Introducing himself as "an IITian" and "a research scholar", Subramanian questioned Priyanka Gandhi's authority to dismiss Kamakoti's scholarship.

"As an IITian, I ask - what scientific or academic expertise qualifies you, Ms. Priyanka Gandhi to mock the research of the Director of @iitmadras, one of India's foremost scientific institutions?" he wrote on X.

"As a research scholar, I find Prof. V. Kamakoti's credentials speak for themselves. What are yours to pass judgment on his scholarship (other than being born into a political dynasty)?"

Subramanian holds a BTech in Electrical Engineering from IIT Kanpur and an MBA in Finance from IIM Calcutta.

He also asked whether Priyanka Gandhi had actually read Kamakoti's work before criticising him. "Have you actually read Prof. Kamakoti's work before caricaturing him? If so, which part of his research do you disagree with, and on what evidence?" he asked.

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'SCIENCE TESTS HYPOTHESES'

Subramanian also objected to what he described as ridicule of ideas linked to traditional knowledge. "Since when did the cultural or religious origin of a scientific hypothesis become grounds for ridicule?" he wrote, adding that Aspirin traces its origins to willow bark, artemisinin emerged from traditional Chinese medicine, and many modern drugs began as traditional remedies.

"Science tests hypotheses...it doesn't mock them because of where they originate," the noted economist said.

He further asked whether "ridiculing distinguished scholars" was Congress's idea of promoting Viksit Bharat and questioned why, according to him, the party "so often reserve[s] its derision for ideas associated with Hindu traditions."

"India's scientists and scholars deserve better than ridicule. They deserve evidence-based debate," he said.

WHAT PRIYANKA GANDHI SAID 

Gandhi criticised the Centre's newly constituted high-powered task force set up to reform the National Testing Agency (NTA) and prevent paper leaks. The new task force will be headed by former UIDAI chairman and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani.

The task force has five members: S Somanath (Former ISRO chairman), Tapan Deka (Former Intelligence Bureau director), V Kamakoti (IIT Chennai director), Anita Karwal (Former education secretary), and Amrit Lal Meena (Logistics expert).

Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Gandhi questioned the composition of the panel and said, "This committee even includes a cow urine expert. What do such people know about the education sector?"

She also referred to Kamakoti as a "gaumutra visheshgya" (cow urine expert) while arguing that forming new committees would not help unless their recommendations were implemented.

WHO IS V KAMAKOTI?

Prof. V. Kamakoti has been serving as the Director of IIT Madras since January 2022. He received his MS and PhD in Computer Science and Engineering from IIT Madras and joined the institute's faculty in 2001.

He specialises in computer architecture, information security and VLSI design, heads IIT Madras' Microprocessor Development Programme and Information Security Education and Awareness Programme, and has authored more than 150 research publications. He has also served as Chairman of the Artificial Intelligence Task Force constituted by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and is a member of the National Security Advisory Board.

The "gaumutra expert" remark refers to a viral video from January 2025 in which Kamakoti spoke about the medicinal benefits of cow urine during a Maatu Pongal event at a cowshed in Chennai. He shared a story about a sanyasi whose fever, he claimed, disappeared within 15 minutes after drinking cow urine. The remarks were made while he was speaking about indigenous cattle and organic farming.