Kolkata: Amid allegations of “unauthorised occupation” against Nobel laureate Amartya Sen by Visva Bharati, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday handed over land-related documents to him, asserting that “no one can question him” in future and claimed that “this controversy was nothing but BJP’s ploy to disrespect Sen”.
“I have handed over all land records that our land department has found to Dr Sen. This controversy is nothing but BJP’s ploy to disrespect the Nobel laureate,” she said, adding: “The LR record of 1984 mentions that the West Bengal Government had given 1.38 acres of land to Dr Sen’s family.”
Banerjee met Sen at his ancestral house in Santiniketan on Monday. Dubbing the accusations as “baseless”, Banerjee instructed Bengal’s Director General of Police to provide Z+ category security to Sen and set up a temporary police camp before his Santiniketan residence to mitigate perceived threat perceptions.
The Joint Registrar of Visva Bharati University had sent a letter to Prof Sen on January 24, 2023, alleging that the latter was allotted a long-term lease of 1.25 acres and now is in illegal occupation of 13 decimals of land belonging to Visva Bharati. He was asked to immediately hand over parts of the plot he was allegedly occupying in an “unauthorised manner”.
“I asked the concerned department to investigate the matter, and we found the land record from the government’s land record department. The LR record of 1984 mentions that the West Bengal government had given 1.38 acres of land to Dr Sen’s family. The same 1.38 acres of land is mentioned in the old record of 1956 too.
This proves that Prof Sen has not illegally occupied any additional land as alleged by the university authorities. This is nothing but BJP’s ploy to disrespect the Nobel laureate,” Banerjee remarked.
Questioning the role of Visva Bharati officials for such baseless allegations against the Nobel laureate, she said: “Someone who has imparted education and knowledge to so many is being harassed and insulted. I want to tell the Visva Bharati administration that if you can’t recognise Dr Sen’s talent, then at least don’t disrespect him.
Reiterating that she wants Visva Bharati to run properly instead of being influenced by attempts of saffronisation, Banerjee, without taking any name, raised questions over the role played by varsity Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakrabarty. “I want Visva Bharati to run peacefully. I am not naming anyone, but I only see the varsity administration suspending students and issuing show-cause notices. I respect Visva Bharati but condemn the attempts being made to saffronise the hallowed institution. The university has been provided with central force security in such a manner that it seems that it has been dissociated from Bengal,” the Chief Minister maintained.
Banerjee appealed to the Union Education ministry to take note of the “atrocious” and “terrible attitude” in insulting the veteran economist in an attempt to “malign his reputation”.
“Such is the level of insult, that some Visva Bharati official has even questioned the authenticity of Amartya babu’s Nobel Prize. To them, I just wish to say, first go, and find the stolen Nobel Prize of Rabindranath Tagore before commenting on other matters. Those who insult Amartya Sen must remember they will have to bow down and apologise one day,” she added.
Banerjee was referring to Rabindranath Tagore’s Nobel prize that was stolen from Visva Bharati and despite a CBI probe, hasn’t been found yet.
She also maintained that her government would decide on the next course of legal action once she was back in Kolkata.