Suvendu questions Amartya Sen's contribution to Bengal, stirs row

KOLKATA: West Bengal BJP leader of opposition Suvendu Ahikari on Monday questioned Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's "contribution" to the state, igniting a row as the governing TMC and CPM slammed Adhikari.

His remarks came days after Sen, who received an SIR hearing notice recently, said that the verification process was being "conducted in a hurry" ahead of assembly elections in a few months.




"It is usual for him to make such comments. He does not have any contribution to Bengal. Has he ever created a job opportunity for an educated youth in Bengal? There is no example that shows that he stood by a poor man," Adhikari said.

In his remarks on SIR, Sen had argued that "a thorough review of electoral rolls done carefully with adequate time can be a good democratic procedure" but voiced apprehensions if this was happening in Bengal this time

TMC termed Adhikari's comments "unwarranted" and accused him of trying to undermine a globally respected intellectual. "A mind incapable of understanding economics naturally attacks economists. A career built on opportunism naturally despises integrity. And a man allergic to ideas predictably lashes out at intellect," Trinamool said on X. Adhikari had switched from TMC to BJP five years ago.

CPM central committee member Sujan Chakraborty pointed out that Adhikari was earlier critical of Sen when the Nobel Laureate had pushed for industrialisation in Bengal. "Adhikari was a TMC leader then and tried to please his then-political masters. Today, he is saying what his political masters in BJP would like to hear. He does not have any capacity to assess Sen," Chakraborty said.