Nobel laureate Amartya Sen asserted on Wednesday that the outcome of the most recent Lok Sabha elections indicates that India is not a 'Hindu Rashtra'.
Sen arrived in Kolkata from the US in the evening and expressed displeasure over the "continuation" of putting people behind bars "without trial" even under the new dispensation.
"That India is not a 'Hindu Rashtra' only has been reflected in the election results," Sen told a Bengali news channel at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose International Airport.
"We always hope to see a change after every election. Some of what happened earlier (during the BJP-led central government), like putting people behind bars without trial and widening the gap between the rich and poor, are still continuing. That must stop," he said.
The eminent economist said people need to be politically open-minded, especially in India, a secular country with a secular Constitution.
"I do not think the idea of turning India into a 'Hindu Rashtra' is appropriate," Sen, 90, said.
He also believed that the new Union cabinet was "a copy of the earlier one".
"The ministers continue to hold similar portfolios. Despite a slight reshuffle, the politically powerful are still powerful," he said.
On the BJP losing the Faizabad Lok Sabha seat despite building the Ram Temple in Ayodhya, Sen said attempts were made to overshadow the country's true identity.
"... Building the Ram Temple spending so much money... to portray India as a 'Hindu Rashtra', which should not have happened in the country of Mahatma Gandhi, Rabindranath Tagore and Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. It shows an attempt to neglect India's true identity, and it must change," he said.
Sen also said that unemployment was rising in India, and sectors like primary education and healthcare were neglected.
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