Nobel laureate Amartya Sen not taking ‘Bangabibushan’ award from West Bengal govt

Kolkata: Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen will not be taking the ‘Bangabibushan’ award that the state government was supposed to give him on Monday.

According to his family sources, Sen cannot receive the award as he is abroad.

His daughter Antara Deb Sen said, "Amartya Sen said he has received innumerable awards throughout his lifetime. He wants this awards to go to other people."

It may be noted that Bangabhusan and Bangabibhusan awards are given by the Bengal government every year to the crème de la crème of the society.

Meanwhile, Opposition has upped its ante against the state government after former state education minister Partha Chatterjee has been arrested along with his close aide Arpita Mukherjee from whose house over 21 crore rupees cash and several lakh worth jewellery was found.

Senior CPI(M) leader and politburo member Sujan Chakraborty had written a letter to Nobel Laureates Amartya Sen and Abjhijit Vinayak Bandhopadhyay requesting them to boycott the award of the Bengal government.

On Sunday, with folded hands, Chakraborty urged the crème de la crème of the society to ‘unite’ against the alleged ‘corruption’ of the West Bengal government.

“Several people were duped and people were promised jobs against money. Students even after passing the SSC examination and despite their names featuring in the merit list, they were deprived of jobs. The crème de la crème of the society should unite and refuse the Bangabibhusan award,” said Chakraborty.

Published on: Sunday, July 24, 2022, 09:14 PM IST