The billboards quote Amarya Sen asking his grandchild about her favourite deity.

Billboards with photographs of Nobel laureate Amartya Sen that have his remarks on "Jai Sri Ram" slogan have appeared on key Kolkata street intersections.

"I haven't heard Jai Shri Ram slogan earlier. Nowadays it is now used to beat up people. I think it is has no link with Bengali culture," reads the billboard referring to Amartya Sen's comments made during an interaction at the Jadavpur University on July 5.

The billboards also quote Amarya Sen asking his four-year-old grandchild about her favourite deity.

"I had asked my 4-year-old grand-daughter who is her favourite god? She said Ma Durga. There is no comparison with Ma Durga and Ram Navami," the billboard reads.

On the billboards there is a claim that these have been put up by citizens of the city, but it says nothing about the identity of those citizens.

The billboards are painted in blue and white - the favourite colours of Trinamool chief and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee.

The Trinamool has denied its involvement in putting up the billboards, but has welcomed the comments.

State Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Firhad Hakim claimed the civil society and citizens of Bengal have displayed the billboards and praised the endeavour.

"Amartya Sen is pride of Bengal and pride of India. The BJP leadership does not believe it but we are not even concerned about it," Hakim told journalists.

Hakim claimed that the 'Jai Shri Ram' slogan was being used in a divisive manner to insult the people in the state.

The slogan has occupied the centrestage of politics in Bengal in recent times, with the BJP activists raising it before the Chief Minister, triggering an angry reaction from her on several occasions.

To counter the BJP, the Trinamool has been raising the slogans 'Jai Bangla' and 'Jai Hind' across the state.