Durgapur (West Bengal): BJP MP Saumitra Khan courted fresh controversy on Saturday as he dubbed Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen as a "foreigner" with no connection to rural Bengal. Speaking to party workers in Durgapur on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, the BJP MP lashed out at Sen, known for his criticism of the Narendra Modi government, labeling him as a "foreign national."
" He (Sen) lives abroad. He is unable to think of anything but foreign countries. How much does he know about the poor people of rural Bengal," said Khan. He even went to the extent of questioning the practical utility of Sen's knowledge saying it was "all bookish" and have nothing to do with ground reality.
" He may be a Nobel laureate economist but he only has bookish knowledge which has nothing to do with ground reality," said Khan. The BJP MP's fresh tirade comes days after Sen in an interview to a news agency said that Mamata is capable of becoming the Prime Minister.
However, Khan is no stranger to controversies. Earlier this month his comment describing Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the reincarnation of Swami Vivekananda kicked up a row.
This is not the first time the saffron party has lashed out at Sen. Earlier this month BJP leader Dilip Ghosh slammed Sen for his comment "'climate of intolerance' prevailing in India will not last long and people must unite to fight it" and asked the economist to keep quiet.
"Earlier he used to talk about the country's economy, now he doesn't talk about the country's economy or doesn't want to talk about it. Now he is seeing intolerance. You are old, sit quietly and why do you take the trouble to come here?" said Ghosh.
