Amartya Sen should be prosecuted: Swamy

News Relic, NEW DELHI.

Five days after Nobel laureate Amartya Sen withdrew his candidature for a second term as Chancellor of Nalanda University, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy on Tuesday demanded that he be prosecuted under the Prevention of Corruption Act.

In a letter to members of the university’s Governing Board on February 19, Dr. Sen said there was a unanimous resolution in January that he should have another term, but the President as Visitor was not able to give his assent to it as he had not got the government’s approval.

Dr. Swamy has levelled several accusations against Dr. Sen, including the claim that about Rs. 3,000 crore of tax payer’s money has been “recklessly” spent by him during his tenure.

“The former President of India, Dr. Abdul Kalam resigned from the post of Visitor of the University in 2011 in disgust, objecting to Sen’s arbitrariness and malafide actions,” Dr. Swamy said, adding that the Finance Ministry had also earlier objected to the arbitrary way in which Dr. Sen was operating the Special Dispensation Fund.

Dr. Swamy said Dr. Sen was paid an annual salary of Rs. 50 lakh despite the fact that he lived in America and only briefly visited India.

A CAG report on the expenses incurred for construction of the University points to many irregularities, he alleged.

He demanded that the Government initiate prosecution, failing which he would file a public interest litigation petition.