New Delhi [India], January 13 : Union Minister of State for Education and BJP MP Sukanta Majumdar backed the notice to economist Amartya Sen during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, asking if Nobel laureates are above the law.
The Chief Electoral Office of West Bengal had earlier clarified that the notice to the Nobel laureate was issued after the Electoral Roll Officers' Network (ERONET) portal flagged a "logical discrepancy". The West Bengal CEO said that the age difference between Professor Sen, who is a voter in the Bolpur assembly constituency in West Bengal's Birbhum, and his mother, Amita Sen, was less than 15 years.
In an interview with ANI, Majumdar also said that the Election Commission should have been "careful."
The BJP leader said, "Look, one thing is that the Election Commission should first be a little more careful in all these things. The second thing is that if there is a Nobel laureate economist, is he or she above the law? Will you give permission to murder a Nobel laureate? Should you give? The law cannot be different for anyone. How does the PM vote? You have to stand in line and vote for the PM, right?"
When asked about the TMC using the case to build a narrative around the SIR, alleging Bengali people are being targeted, Majumdar said, "Yes, it is our fault. It is the fault of those who speak. TMC is using it... this is a war of narrative. There is cultural sensitivity in Bengal. Mamta Banerjee is not more Bengali than me."
Earlier, on January 8, the West Bengal CEO said that the notice for Amartya Sen was generated "in parity with the other discrepancy cases."
"The Enumeration Form of Amartya Sen, an overseas elector, was received by his family member Shantabhanu Sen, who linked him with his mother Amita Sen. Since the age difference between the elector and his mother was less than 15 years, a logical discrepancy was flagged by the ERO Net Portal," the CEO of West Bengal said in a post on X.
The authorities further clarified that since Professor Sen was over the age of 85, the concerned officials, along with the Booth Level Office (BLO), had visited his residence to complete the formalities.
"Notice was generated for Dr Amartya Sen in parity with the other discrepancy cases. Since the elector is aged 85 years plus, ERO/AERO, along with BLO, have visited his residence and completed the formalities," the CEO of West Bengal said.
This explanation comes after the Trinamool Congress (TMC) criticised the move, calling it a "shameful farce". The TMC alleged that the ECI is targeting prominent personalities from Bengal.
"A Nobel laureate should be above any suspicion, right? But what if he's a Bengali? Then he'll be slapped with hearing notices as if he were some common criminal. This is the cynical, shameful farce of the BJP and ECI's SIR process. They will drag our icons through the mud, tarnish our pride, and stoop to any low if it serves their Bangla-Birodhi agenda of division and degradation," TMC posted on X.
Congress had also criticised the ECI for asking Nobel laureate Amartya Sen "to prove his citizenship."