Economist Sanjeev Sanyal on Sunday criticised a social media remark about migrant workers from West Bengal, calling it "obnoxious" and pointing to what he described as the state's long-term decline. 

His response came after former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi shared a post that read: "Gurugram wishes smooth elections in West Bengal. We want our maids back safe and soon."

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Sanyal said the comment reduced the state to a source of domestic labour and overlooked its historical legacy. "It is a tragedy that a state that produced Vivekananda, Netaji, AJC Bose, Tagore, Bankim, and Vidyasagar is today thought of merely as a source of household help in the rest of India," he wrote on X.

"While there is nothing wrong in working as a maid or driver (all honest labour should be respected), the cultural and economic decline of my home state is not the joke that this gentleman seems to think," the economist added. "Some of us witnessed the collapse over half a century, and find this obnoxious."

This comes days before the second phase of polling in West Bengal. The first phase of polling was held on April 23, with the second scheduled for April 29. Results are due on May 4.

There have been reports that domestic workers from several cities have returned to the state to vote. 

On Saturday, investor Rajeev Mantri also commented on the state's trajectory, describing Kolkata as a city with "unlimited potential" but one that had seen prolonged economic decline.

"Kolkata is a city that has unlimited potential," he wrote. "It has some of the best human capital on the planet - just look at all the engineers, doctors, scientists, and yes, finance graduates and chartered accounts who have studied here but now work outside the city and state due to the decades of economic devastation. GCCs and startups across India are heavily staffed with Bengal’s talent."

He said the city's riverfront was "massively underdeveloped and underutilized" and pointed to its proximity to Southeast and East Asian economies. "Consider how well this region has grown over the last four decades, and look at Kolkata and West Bengal - successive parties have worked hard only to devastate and loot, they did nothing at all to bring new industries into the state and expand regional trade. Kolkata's decline has been totally unnecessary."
 

Published on: Apr 26, 2026 1:22 PM IST