Days After Praising Mamata, Amartya Sen Receives Land Documents Amid 'Unauthorised Occupation' Allegations By Visva-Bharati University

Amid allegations of 'unauthorised occupation' against Nobel laureate Amartya Sen by Visva-Bharati, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday handed over land-related documents to him, asserting that 'no one can question him' in future.

Banerjee, who reached Bolpur in the second half of the day, visited Sen at his residence and dubbed the accusations made against him as 'baseless'.

The chief minister also announced that the Nobel laureate would be accorded 'Z+ category' security in future.

"Allegations of land grabbing against him (Amartya Sen) are baseless. It is an attempt to tarnish his reputation. No one has the right to insult him. We won't tolerate it," Banerjee said as the economist sat beside her.

The CM said her government would decide on the next course of legal action once she was back in Kolkata.

Visva-Bharati, in a missive last week, asked Sen to immediately hand over parts of a plot he was allegedly occupying in an 'unauthorised manner' at Santiniketan.

The varsity also gave Sen two options -- 'intervention of the court of law or discussion with Visva-Bharati authority'.

Banerjee said, "I have been hearing baseless allegations against him for a long time... I waited as I went through the records and also asked officials to do the same. We have dug out the original land records. I will direct the district magistrate to do what is needed," she said.

Banerjee also ordered the setting up a police camp outside Sen's residence in Birbhum.

This comes days after Sen, who was awarded the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in 1998, stirred a political controversy earlier this month by contending that Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee “clearly has the ability” to be the next prime minister of India.

An elated Banerjee promptly responded by saying that any advice from Sen “is like an order to us”, thereby indicating that she has her eyes set firmly on the Prime Minister’s post despite recent protestations to the contrary.

“Amartya Sen is a world-renowned pandit. His insights always show us the path. His advice is like an order to us. His analysis of the current situation in the country should be taken seriously by all," Banerjee had said.

Lashing out at varsity authorities for 'trying to saffronise' the institution, the TMC boss said she has immense 'respect for Visva-Bharati' but was 'pained to see the central university function like an island disconnected from the rest of Bengal'.

She urged the BJP and its associates to 'stop humiliating the Nobel laureate, who has not just made Bengal but the entire country proud'.

Hitting out at Visva-Bharati Vice-Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty over his allegations against Sen, the chief minister wondered whether he is worthy of holding the position.

'He (Chakraborty) is attempting to saffronise the university. He has no right to insult someone. Is he even worthy of being the V-C of Visva-Bharati?' she said.

Later in the evening, the state government released a press note, which said that officials, after checking records, have found that Sen had not illegally occupied any land as alleged by Visva-Bharati.

'The state government has checked all old land records. It was found that Ashutosh Sen, father of Professor Sen, has been given a long-term lease of 1.3 acres and not 1.25 acres as alleged by Visva-Bharati,' the release added.

It should be noted that Sen is no stranger to controversies, especially centred on his tenure as chairman of Nalanda University from July 2012 to July 2015 (read this and this).

Apart from the allegations of "unauthorised land occupation" by Vishva-Bharati University, Sen is also accused of appointing a junior teacher of Delhi University to the weighty post of Vice-Chancellor of Nalanda University in an arbitrary manner. 

The economist turned into a staunch critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ever since he stepped down as Nalanda University chancellor, the post he was appointed to by the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) government in 2015.

It is widely believed that Sen wanted a second tenure at that post, but was unofficially told that the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) government was not inclined to grant his wish.

(With inputs from PTI)