Mamta Banerjee said, “I want to see who is more powerful – bulldozers or humanity.”
Kolkata:
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said she would stage a sit-in in Bolpur if the authorities of Visva-Bharati University tried to “bulldoze” Nobel laureate Amartya Sen’s ancestral home ‘Pratichi’ in the campus area. Illegal occupation of land in excess of lease.
The university, in an eviction order, has asked Mr Sen to vacate by May 6 or within 15 days from the publication of the final order, 0.13 acres (5,550 sq ft) of the 1.38 acres of leased land, on which the authorities has claimed the renowned economist “unauthorisedly” captures.
“Amartya Sen is being attacked every day. I have seen his (VB’s) audacity. I will be the first person to go there (Bolpur) if they try to bulldoze his house,” Ms Banerjee told media persons here. Let’s do it. I will stage a dharna.” sit there
“I want to see who is more powerful – the bulldozer or humanity,” she said.
Ms Banerjee had on January 30 handed over documents from the state land and revenue department to Mr Sen, which said the entire 1.38 acres of land belonged to Sen through a mutation carried out in 2006.
The university administration has challenged the documents.
Its notice states, “Amartya Kumar Sen and all persons concerned are liable to be evicted from the said premises, if necessary, by use of such force as may be.” It has been decided that 13 decimals of land having dimensions of 50 ft x 111 ft in the North-West corner of the Scheduled Premises is to be recovered from him.
“Thus he (Sen) can legally occupy only 1.25 acres of land as a lessee (for the remaining period of the lease) in the prescribed premises,” said the notice issued by Joint Registrar Ashish Mahato.
The notice has also been criticized by other political parties, including the Congress, which has accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government of “targeting” Mr Sen for being strongly critical of Hindutva forces.
Established in 1921 by Rabindranath Tagore, Visva Bharati was a college until it was made a central university in 1951 by an Act of Parliament.
It is the only Central University of Bengal and the Prime Minister is its Chancellor.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)