The spat between West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and Vishwa Bharati University continues to escalate, with the educational institution asserting that it was “better off without the CM’s blessings”. The political battle had begun last month after the university levelled allegations of “unauthorised occupation” against Nobel laureate Amartya Sen.
“Visva Bharati is a central university. We are better off without your blessings because we are used to the margdarshan of the prime minister….You are the chief minister of West Bengal. It is your responsibility to safeguard the self-respect of people in the state,” the university asserted.
A statement signed by spokesperson Mahua Banerjee urged the CM to stop ‘seeing everything with her ears’ and ‘believing what her sycophants tell her’. It also touched upon the arrest of TMC leaders Partha Chatterjee and Anubrata Mondal.
“Your favourite disciple, without whom you cannot imagine Birbhum, is also languishing in jail,” the statement added.
Also read: Mamata hands over land docu to Amartya Sen, says unauthorised occupation claim ‘baseless’
Earlier on Wednesday, the University had defended its disciplinary action against seven students and a professor. The remarks came as a rejoinder after Banerjee deplored attempts to “bulldoze democratic protests” in the institution. The CM had said that students were not getting a chance to study for not toeing the university’s line.
In a missive last week, the university had 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”.
Following this, Banerjee had handed over land-related documents to him and lambasted the ‘baseless’ allegations. The state government also clarified that records indicated no such illegal occupation. According to officials, Sen’s father had been given a long-term lease of 1.3 acres.
“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 in Bolpur. The CM had also said that her government would decide on the next course of legal action once she was back in Kolkata.
(With inputs from agencies)
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