By IANS
Kolkata : External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee Saturday said controversial Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen has not been kept under house arrest and she can stay in India as long as she wants.
“Taslima is our guest and she can stay in the country as long as she wants. She has not been kept under house arrest as alleged by her,” Mukherjee told reporters after attending a function at the Calcutta University here.
“As a guest she should not do anything that would hurt the sentiments of the people. I have already made a statement in Parliament on Taslima and conveyed our decision to her,” he added.
Mukherjee said Taslima has been kept at a safe house in New Delhi for security reasons. The officials looking after Taslima have been told to extend all facilities to her.
Asked about her possible return to Kolkata, the minister said, “Those asking the question should ponder why she had to leave Kolkata. Media should also find out why she had to leave the city.”
The 45-year-old writer was shifted to Jaipur Nov 22 and then to New Delhi under heavy security after unprecedented violence in Kolkata by a section of the Muslim community, who were demanding her ouster from India.
Taslima Thursday alleged the Indian government had told her that she can stay in the country confined to a room, not allowed to visit anyone or receive visitors, or leave the country.
“What have I done? Am I a criminal? Have I committed any crime? I cannot go back to Bangladesh they know. Now, they want me to stay like a prisoner in a room without being able to meet anyone,” Taslima told IANS.
On Nov 30, Nasreen had agreed to expunge the controversial portions from her biography “Dwikhandita” (Split in Two) that had triggered riots in Kolkata.
However, West Bengal’s ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) washed its hands of the matter, saying the Bangladeshi writer moved out on her own and it was for the central government to decide where she should stay.