Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde supported Nobel laureate Amartya Sen on his opposition to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi as Prime Minister of the country.
''Dr Sen is a great economist and we support his statement on Narendra Modi that he was opposed on his becoming the PM of the country,'' Shinde said while talking to mediapersons during a function where Congress vice- president Rahul Gandhi laid the foundation stone of a CRPF recruitment centre in Trisundi at Amethi on Thursday afternoon. ''People should give importance to the statement of Dr Sen,'' Mr Shinde said.
The Union Home Minister also rejected the statement of a senior BJP leader Chandan Mitra who had said in the social media that ''the Bharat Ratna given to him be taken back when party comes to power.'' ''Such a statement by a BJP leader shows the narrow attitude of the party and its leader,'' he stated. Amartya Sen, in a recent interview to the media said, ''As an Indian citizen I don't want Modi as my PM, he has not done enough to make minorities feel safe.
'' He also criticised Modi's model of governance and said he does not approve of his model. He had said, ''physical infrastructure in Gujarat may be good but Modi has not done enough for minorities or for the majority.'' But controversy arose when Chandra Mitra tweeted that Amartya Sen says he doesn't want Modi to be India's PM. ''Is Sen even a voter in IndiaIJ Next NDA government must strip him of Bharat Ratna,'' he said. While Congress leaders are opposing the statement of Chandan Mitra but several BJP leaders have supported him.