West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday met Nobel laureate Amartya Sen in Birbhum district and handed over land-related documents to him, asserting that allegations made against him were baseless.
Banerjee personally handed over land holding records of Sen’s Santiniketan residence, Pratichi, on the first day of her 3-day Birbhum visit.
The CM’s visit comes after Visva-Bharati University authorities on Friday sent the Nobel Laureate a second letter in a matter of three days, asking him to hand over parts of a plot he is allegedly occupying in Santiniketan, reported The Indian Express.
The CM said that Sen is the rightful leasehold owner of 1.38 acres of land and that Visva Bharati’s claims about Sen illegally occupying some 13 decimal of land which should be returned to the university is “false” and “made with an intention to humiliate the Nobel Laureate.”
“Allegations of land grabbing against him are baseless. It is an attempt to malign his reputation. No one has the right to insult him. We won’t tolerate it. I respect Visva-Bharati, but condemn the attempts being made to saffronise the hallowed institution,” Banerjee said with the economist sitting next to her.
The CM also instructed DGP Bengal to provide Z+ category security to Sen, and set up a temporary police camp before his Santiniketan residence.
Earlier, Sen had said that most of the land in Birbhum was purchased from the market by his father Ashutosh Sen, while some other plots were taken on lease.