Mamata stands by Amartya Sen in land issue tussle with Visva Bharati University

Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday stood by Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen after Visva Bharati University Vice Chancellor Bidyut Chakraborty accused him of unauthorised possession of university land at Bolpur-Santiniketan in Birbhum district.

Chakraborty has alleged that Sen is in possession of 1.38 acres of land which is excess of his legal entitlement of 1.25 acres. The Nobel laureate economist, however, has denied the charges.

On Monday afternoon, the Chief Minister, after reaching Bolpur-Santiniketan, went to the residence of Professor Sen. There she handed over the land holding records of the state Land & Land Reforms Department, which shows his legal entitlement over the entire 1.38 acres of land that he is occupying.

"The allegations made by the university authorities of illegally occupying 13 decimals of land was totally false and meant to malign the image of the great educationist. We will take whatever legal action required in this regard also which I will not disclose now. But I will not tolerate the insult of the Nobel laureate at any cost," Banerjee said.

On the spot, she also directed the district police to provide Z+ category security to Sen. She also directed the Superintendent of Police, Nagendra Tripathi to set up a temporary police camp in front of his residence there.

The Chief Minister also said that there is a definite attempt to saffronise everything and in this process, some related to the education system are insulting the Nobel laureate. "But I will not tolerate this and will see it through to the end," the Chief Minister said, throwing a virtual challenge to the university authorities.